ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Avian Influenza

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on whether poultry kept in a control area as pets or for a hobby and which have been vaccinated against H5N1 avian influenza should be culled.

Ben Bradshaw: No birds in the UK have been vaccinated against avian influenza. Although vaccination offers potential disease control benefits, at the current level of risk, available vaccines are too limited to provide a fully effective or efficient solution.
	In the event of an avian influenza outbreak, we would control the disease by culling all birds on any infected premises and dangerous contacts. Depending on veterinary risk assessment advice, additional strategies could include a cull of flocks in the immediate area to prevent the spread of disease. These arrangements are described in Defra's published Animal Disease Contingency Plan.

Bovine TB

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the wild mammal species where mycobacterium bovis has been found in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The main wildlife reservoir of bovine tuberculosis in the UK is in badgers. Wild deer are the other significant wildlife reservoir though experts believe they generally present less of a disease risk to cattle than badgers do.
	The status of Mycobacterium bovis infection in British wild mammals: a review" contains detailed information on the prevalence mycobacterium bovis in wild mammals. A copy of this has been deposited in the House Library.
	Further information can be found in the Central Science Laboratory report: the risk to cattle from wildlife species other than badgers in areas of high herd breakdown risk. This is available on the Defra website at: http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project_data/More.asp?I=SE3010&M=KWS&V=se3010&SCOPE=

Cetacean By-catch

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of (a) cetacean strandings and (b) cetacean by-catch (i) inside and (ii) outside the 12 mile zone following the 12 mile fair trawl prohibition.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 11 November 2005
	We have recently published on the Defra website a report on Defra-funded research conducted by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) on by-catch observations and mitigation work in the UK bass pair trawl fishery. A copy of this report will also be placed in the Library of the House. Since the introduction of the 12 mile pair trawl prohibition, no pair trawl activity has taken place within-12 miles. As the SMRU report outlines, common dolphin by-catch in this fishery has reduced from 429 animals in the 2003–04 season to 139 in the 2004–05 season.
	In addition, we have in place observer schemes to monitor by-catch in other fisheries which may be responsible for by-catch both inside and outside 12 miles. The first report from this work also being conducted on our behalf by SMRU is due in spring 2006.
	Strandings data is obtained under the Defra-funded Cetacean and Turtle Strandings Scheme, carried out by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Institute of Zoology and Scottish Agricultural College. Cetacean strandings have shown a steep decline this year in the area covered by the 12 mile pair trawl prohibition. Between 1 January and 18 July 2005, there were 68 common dolphin strandings in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset compared with 178 for the same period in 2004.

Dangerous Dogs Act

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to review the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no plans to review the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Illegal Meat Imports

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will estimate the total amount in tonnes of illegal meat imports that have entered the EU from countries with (a) foot and mouth disease and (b) avian influenza in each year since 1997;
	(2)  if she will estimate the total amount in tonnes of illegal meat imports that have entered (a) the UK and (b) the EU in each year since 1997;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the total amount of illegal meat seized at each UK (a) seaport, (b) airport and (c) border crossing point between 1997 and 2003;

Ben Bradshaw: The estimates requested have not been made. However, since April 2001, seizures of illegal meat imported into the UK have been recorded and are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Period Seizures in kilograms 
		
		
			 1 April 2001–31 March 2002 18,955 
			 1 April 2002–31 March 2003 31,301 
			 1 April 2003–31 March 2004 72,734 
			 1 April 2004–31 March 2005 78,664 
		
	
	We do not have figures on the amount of illegal meat imports entering the EU.

Landfill (Hazardous Waste)

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hazardous waste landfill sites are available for use in each region of England.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows the number of permitted hazardous landfill sites and separate cells for stable, non-reactive hazardous waste available for use in each of the seven English regions of the Environment Agency.
	
		
			  Region Hazardous landfill sites Stable non-reactive hazardous waste cells 
		
		
			 Anglian 2 2 
			 Midlands 2 6 
			 North East 3 4 
			 North West 3 3 
			 South West 1 3 
			 Southern 1 1 
			 Thames 1 1 
			 Total 13 20

Nappies

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken since 1997 to promote the use of reusable nappies amost new parents.

Ben Bradshaw: The Strategy Unit Report Waste Not Want Not" published in 2002 recommended that the Waste and Resources Programme (WRAP) should take forward a programme of work to increase awareness about re-usable nappies.
	WRAP received funding for a period of three years from April 2003 to March 2006. The aim of the WRAP initiative was to provide support to schemes run by local authorities and re-usable nappy businesses. In addition it provides information about re-usable nappies to parents and health professionals.

Rats

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the rat population in England in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 19 November 2003, Official Report, column 906W.
	The only recent objective national survey of rat presence is within the English House Condition Survey (EHCS). The 2001 survey revealed that 0.3 per cent. of properties had rats indoors and 2.9 per cent. had rats present outside.
	A copy of the report can be found at the following weblink: http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/reports/English-house-survey-rodent-report. pdf.

Recycling (Herefordshire)

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Herefordshire council has achieved its target of reducing the amount of waste produced per person, per year to 2000–01 levels.

Ben Bradshaw: The target referred to is locally set, part of the joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, 2004–34, and Defra cannot comment on this. However, results taken from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Audit Commission Best Value Performance Indicator 84 show that 538 kg of household waste was produced per person in 2000–01 for Herefordshire. The latest available corresponding results for 2004–05 show 528 kg of household waste was produced per person.

TRANSPORT

A47 Multi-modal Study

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of completing the A47 Norwich to Peterborough multi-modal study.

Stephen Ladyman: The cost of the A47 Norwich to Peterborough multi-modal study funded by the Department for Transport was £0.9 million.

A47/A11

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the (a) East of England Regional Assembly and (b) East of England Regional Development Agency on improvements to the (i) A47 and (ii) A11.

Stephen Ladyman: We have recently received the advice from the East of England Regional Partnership Group on their transport priorities, including improvement schemes on both the A47 and A11. The Regional Partnership Group includes both (a) the East of England Regional Assembly and (b) East of England Regional Development Agency within its membership.

Aicraft Landings

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since 1 January 2001 registered aircraft (a) N2189M, (b) N8183J, (c) N970SJ, (d) N129QS, (e) N368CE and (f) N85VM have landedat British airports; and what their (i) origin and (ii) destination was in each case.

Alistair Darling: None of the information held by my Department provides evidence that these flights were involved in rendition. The British Government is not aware of any cases of rendition through the UK since May 1997, apart from the two cases in 1998 about which the Foreign Secretary has informed Parliament. Since before 9/11 we have worked closely with the US to achieve our shared goal of fighting terrorism. As part of that close co-operation, we have made clear to the US authorities, including in recent months:
	(i) that we expect them to seek permission to render detainees via UK territory and airspace (including Overseas Territories);
	(ii) that we will grant permission only if we are satisfied that the rendition would accord with UK law and our international obligations, and
	(iii) how we understand our obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture.
	I refer to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's written ministerial statement of 20 January 2006, Official Report, columns 37–8WS and written answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 784–5W.
	Foreign aircraft are required by the Chicago Convention to seek the prior permission of the state before operating commercial flights into another country. Aircraft operating commercial flights to and from UK airports need operating permits from my Department. Our database shows that three of these six aircraft have operated commercial flights in the UK since 1 January 2001. Details are given as follows.
	
		
			 Aircraft/date Route 
		
		
			 N129QS  
			 30 June 2003 Paris—Luton 
			 23 February 2005 Washington DC—Stansted—Riyadh 
			 28 May 2005 Stansted—Washington DC 
			 27 June 2005 Luton—Tel Aviv 
			 15 December 2005 Heathrow—Barbados 
			   
			 N970SJ  
			 4 September 20–03 Caracas—Luton 
			 5 February 2004 Madrid—Luton 
			   
			 N368CE  
			 6 May 2004 Newark—Stansted 
			 24 July 2004 Liverpool—Newark 
		
	
	There is no requirement for operating permits for non-commercial flights. However, a flight plan must be filed for all flights that cross international borders. Flight plans are filed with Eurocontrol and I agreed that they should release data to Dick Marty, Chair of the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe, in order to contribute to the inquiry into rendition and 'secret prisons' undertaken by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Eurocontrol released data from all its member states to the Parliament on a confidential basis on 23 January. In agreeing to release I asked for a copy of the UK data which I received in late January. The data shows that four of the six aircraft have also landed in the UK as non-commercial flights. Details are as follows.
	
		
			 Aircraft/date Route 
		
		
			 N2189M  
			 23 March 2003 Stephenville—Prestwick 
			 24 March 2003 Prestwick—Frankfurt Main 
			 20 September 2003 Genova/Sestri—Prestwick 
			 21 September 2003 Prestwick—Gander Intl 
			 3 December 2003 Goose Bay—Prestwick 
			 4 December 2003 Prestwick—Frankfurt Main 
			 18 January 2004 Gander Intl—Prestwick 
			 19 January 2004 Prestwick—Amman/Marka 
			 25 May 2004 Praha/Ruzyne—Prestwick 
			 26 May 2004 Prestwick—Gander Intl 
			   
			 N8183J  
			 31 May 2003 Frankfurt Main—Prestwick 
			 1 June 2003 Prestwick—Gander Intl 
			 31 August 2003 Gander Intl—Prestwick 
			 1 September 2003 Prestwick—Frankfurt Main 
			 1 January 2004 Frankfurt Main—Prestwick 
			 2 January 2004 Prestwick—Gander Intl 
			 3 May 2004 Gander Intl—Prestwick 
			 4 May 2004 Prestwick—Iraklion Nikos Kazanzakis 
			 2 November 2004 Frankfurt Main—Prestwick 
			 3 November 2004 Prestwick—Gander Intl 
			 6 April 2005 Gander Intl—Prestwick 
			 7 April 2004 Prestwick—Iraklion Nikos Kazanzakis 
			   
			 N368CE  
			 6 June 2001 Boston/Logan Intl, Massachusetts—London/Stansted 
			 7 June 2001 London/Stansted—Athens/Eleftherios Venizelos 
			 5 August 2001 New York Newark—Luton 
			 5 August 2001 Luton—Bangor Intl, Maine 
			 4 October 2001 Bangor Intl, Maine—Inverness 
			 9 October 2001 Inverness—Bangor Intl, Maine 
			 3 September 2002 Nice/Cote d'Azur—Farnborough 
			 3 September 2002 Farnborough—Nice/Cote d'Azur 
			 4 September 2002 Nice/Cote d'Azur—Farnborough 
			 4 September 2002 Farnborough—Nice/Cote d'Azur 
			 3 September 2002 Goose Bay—Birmingham 
			 30 September 2002 Birmingham—Goose Bay 
			 11 June 2003 New York Newark—Inverness 
			 14 June 2003 Inverness—Gander Intl 
			 17 June 2003 Gander Intl—Luton 
			 18 June 2003 Luton—Riyadh/King Khalid Intl 
			 6 May 2004 New York Newark—London/Stansted 
			 9 May 2004 London/Stansted—Bangor Intl, Maine 
			   
			 N85VM  
			 24 June 2001 Teterboro, NJ—Belfast/Aldergrove 
			 29 June 2001 Belfast/Aldergrove—Teterboro, NJ 
			 4 September 2001 Connaught—Londonderry/Eglinton 
			 5 September 2001 Londonderry/Eglinton—Bedford/Laurence G. Hanscom Massachusetts Field, 
			 16 September 2001 Luton—Geneve Cointrin 
			 14 October 2001 Teterboro, NJ—Leuchars 
			 15 October 2001 Edinburgh—Leuchars 
			 21 October 2001 Leuchars—Farmingdale 
			 26 December 2001 Bedford/Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Massachusetts—Luton 
			 28 December 2001 Luton—Bedford/Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Massachusetts 
			 12 January 2002 Larnaca—London/Stansted 
			 12 January 2002 London/Stansted—Schenectady, NY 
			 28 September 2002 Farmingdale—Leuchars 
			 28 September 2002 Leuchars—Schenectady, NY 
			 5 October 2002 Schenectady, NY—Leuchars 
			 5 October 2002 Leuchars—Farmingdale 
			 12 November 2002 Dubai Intl—Luton 
			 12 November 2002 Luton—Washington 
			 25 November 2002 Kabul—Edinburgh 
			 25 November 2002 Edinburgh—Washington 
			 3 March 2003 Dubai Intl—Glasgow 
			 3 March 2003 Glasgow—Washington 
			 20 September 2003 Farmingdale—Leuchars 
			 27 September 2003 Leuchars—Farmingdale 
		
	
	The information we hold on these flights does not include details of passengers or purpose of flight, as this information is not routinely collected.

Greater Manchester (Roads)

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with (i) Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority and (ii) Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive on (A) congestion charging and (B)road user pricing in Greater Manchester.

Stephen Ladyman: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 3WS, that the authorities of Greater Manchester had been awarded development funding to consider how local demand management and better public transport could together improve travelling conditions for local people. As with the other six areas to receive this funding, local road pricing forms part of Greater Manchester's consideration of demand management options.
	In this context, officials and Ministers are having regular meetings with the Greater Manchester authorities, including representatives from the Passenger Transport Executive and Authority.

Mersey Gateway Project

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his policy to fund the Mersey Gateway project.

Stephen Ladyman: Officials are currently considering Halton borough council's proposals for the Mersey Gateway. We hope to make a decision on the scheme in due course.

Railways

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what subsidy was given to (a) all train operating companies and (b) train operating companies running to and from Staffordshire in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what he expects the subsidy to be in the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Please see the following table and notes.
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 
		
		
			 Central Trains 131.6 124.0 114.7 148.2 176.3 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Virgin West Coast 57.7 190.9 188.8 328.6 113.0 (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Virgin CrossCountry 79.9 118.5 206.3 241.6 118.5 (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Arriva Trains Wales h/a n/a n/a 46.4 97.8 (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 Wales and Borders n/a 38.8 90.4 76.6 -4.5 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Wales and West 51.9 47.3 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Northern Rail n/a n/a n/a n/a 81.1 363.8 359.9 380.0 
			 First North Western 146.8 173.3 179.5 185.5 103.3 n/a n/a n/a 
			 First ScotRail n/a n/a n/a n/a 85.3 (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 ScotRail 164.1 176.2 173.6 175.8 121.7 n/a n/a n/a 
			 All train operating companies 1,190.1 1,300.7 1,336.0 1,884.8 1,163.7 n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	(1)The current Central Trains franchise expires on 31 March 2006. Discussions continue over future provision of services.
	(2)Negotiations are continuing with Virgin West Coast and Virgin Crosscountry over the level of subsidy they will receive in future years.
	(3)Primary responsibility for the Arriva Trains Wales and First ScotRail franchises now rests with the National Assembly for Wales and Transport Scotland (an executive agency accountable to Scottish Ministers) respectively.
	Note:
	The answer identifies train operating companies (and their predecessors) currently operating rail services in Staffordshire. First ScotRail operates through Staffordshire but has no scheduled station stops within the county.

Railways

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the levels of passenger satisfaction for each train operating company; how this information informs decisions on (a) the shape of railway franchises and (b) the assessment and award of franchises; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The National Passenger Survey (NPS) provides an assessment of passengers' satisfaction with rail travel across all current Train Operating Companies. The fieldwork for this survey is carried out by Passenger Focus, who publish the results on their website www.passengerfocus.org.uk.
	While the overall standards of service passengers wish to see (or experience) illustrated by NPS will form part of the overall specification for a franchise, bidders proposals for each franchise are judged against their ability to deliver the specification for the franchise being tendered.

Railways

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what restrictions he has placed on increases in the number of trains run by train operating companies; and which of these restrictions apply to trains running to and from Gloucestershire.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport (DfT) encourages franchised train operators to operate additional trains, above the minimum specified in the contract for the franchise.
	The additional trains can only operate if Network Rail is able to accommodate them on the rail network without detriment to other operators, if the relevant Track Access Agreement is approved by the Office of Rail Regulation, and that the additional trains have no subsidy payment implications for DfT. This position applies in Gloucestershire and elsewhere on the rail network.

Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  for what reasons the Government target for Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation in 2010 is 0.75 per cent. below the target in the EU biofuels directive;
	(2)  for what reasons the UK did not meet the EU target of 2 per cent. biofuel inclusion for 2005;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to ensure that the capacity of domestic biofuels industry will be sufficient to meet the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which comes into force in 2008.

Stephen Ladyman: The EU Biofuels Directive allows member states to set their own indicative targets for biofuel sales. Starting from a low base, total UK sales in 2005 were equivalent to 0.24 per cent. of overall road fuel sales, representing a six fold increase on 2004. Some other member states with an established biofuels production industry were able to meet higher targets, but many are in a similar position to the UK.
	The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation will provide the long-term market certainty industry requires in order to commit the necessary investment in the domestic biofuels industry. In addition, the Government will introduce enhanced capital allowances for the cleanest biofuels production plants from next year, subject to state aids approval.
	The level of obligation has been set at 5 per cent. for 2010 because this is currently the maximum permitted blend of biofuel allowed under EU fuel quality standards for petrol and diesel. We will look to move beyond 5 per cent. as soon as these standards allow.

Severn Tunnel

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he plans to take to mitigate the impact of rises in sea level and dramatic weather events on the Severn Tunnel.

Derek Twigg: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. I have asked Network Rail to reply directly to my hon. Friend.

Speed Limits

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what checks are undertaken by his Department to ensure that displayed speed limit signs conform with actual speed limits.

Stephen Ladyman: Individual traffic authorities are responsible for ensuring that displayed speed limit signs conform with actual speed limits.

DEFENCE

Air Traffic Control

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact on UK military aviation of the European Commission's proposals to harmonise air traffic control charges.

Adam Ingram: Under the existing Eurocontrol Multilateral Agreement for Route Charges, the United Kingdom has exempted all military flights flown in UK airspace. The current draft text of the Single European Sky (SES) Implementing Regulation on air navigation charges reflects the existing Eurocontrol policy and UK intends that this exemption will remain. However, as a result of the SES Implementing Regulation, where a member state chooses to exempt a class of aircraft, the state is responsible for reimbursing the air navigation service provider for the service they provide.
	The Ministry of Defence has contributed to an impact assessment of the effect of the SES Regulation carried out by the Department for Transport. This has identified that the cost of providing air navigation services to military users in the UK is approximately £9.9 million (2004 prices). Work is under way to identify a cost neutral solution for military aviation based on the contribution made to UK air navigation services by military air traffic control.

Armed Forces Pay Review

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the manning shortfall is at each of the operational pinch points identified by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body in their report of February 2006, Cm 6740, for (a) officers and (b) other ranks in each of the Services.

Adam Ingram: The pinch points lists and data that was supplied as evidence to the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body dates from April 2005. The current lists, that were supplied recently to the House of Commons Defence Committee, are shown in the table. They cover all ranksand additionally show the manning level of the Manning Pinch Point (MPP) trade as a percentage of the requirement. Officer branches are shown in italics.
	Naval Service
	
		
			  Serial Branch/trade Manning level (%) 
		
		
			 (MPPs comprise around 18 per cent. of RN and 9 per cent. of RM manpower requirement) 
			 l. Aircrew (Rotary Wing)  
			  Merlin Pilot 76 
			  Merlin Observer 57 
			  Merlin Aircrewman 70 
			 2. Fast Jet Pilots 79 
			 3. Junior Submarine Warfare Officers 71 
			 4. Junior Hydrographical/Meteorological Officers 53 
			 5. Submarine Steward (required for secondary duties) 85 
			 6. Submarine/Communications Ratings  
			  Petty Officer 86 
			  Leading Hands 48 
			  Able Seaman (4)114 
			 7. Fighter Controllers 77 
			 8. Surface Ship and Submarine Junior Warfare Ratings (4)106 
			 9. Air Engineering Junior Ratings 75 
			 10. Submarine Nuclear Watchkeeper Senior Ratings 69 
			 11. Royal Marines Junior Ranks 88 
			 12. Mine Clearance Divers Junior Ratings 75 
		
	
	(4)Some trades are manned at over 100 per cent. yet appear as MPP trades by virtue of over-commitment on operations or to fill shortfalls elsewhere.
	Army
	
		
			  Serial Branch/trade Manning level (%) 
		
		
			 (MPPs comprise around 15 per cent. of Army manpower requirement) 
			 l. Vehicle Mechanic 81 
			 2. Recovery Mechanic 73 
			 3. Armourer 81 
			 4. Ammunition Technician 62 
			 5. Chef 91 
			 6. Petroleum Operator 84 
			 7. Explosive Ordnance Disposal 74 
			 8. Clerk of Works 82 
			 9. Military Engineer  
			  Fitter 92 
			  C3S 81 
			  Geographic 78 
			 10. Information Systems Engineer 79 
			 11. Operator Military Intelligence 83 
			  Operator Military Intelligence (Linguist) 98 
			  Operator Military Intelligence (HUMINT) 34 
			 12. Anaesthetist 51 
			 13. Radiologist 0 
			 14. Orthopaedic Surgeon 53 
			 15. General Surgeon 40 
			 16. General Medical Practitioner 58 
			 17. Nurse  
			  General Duties Officer 67 
			  General Duties Soldier 64 
			  Accident and Emergency 8 
			  Intensive Theatre Unit 4 
		
	
	RAF
	
		
			  Serial Branch/trade Manning level (%) 
		
		
			 (MPPs comprise around 37 per cent. of RAF manpower requirement) 
			 l. Squadron Leader Flying Branch 93 
			 2. Junior Officer Pilots 93 
			 3. Junior Officer Weapon Support Officer 93 
			 4. Operations Support Branch (Fighter Control) 79 
			 5. Operations Support Branch (Regiment) 90 
			 6. Operations Support Branch SB (Provost/Security) 87 
			 7. Engineer 93 
			 8. Administration (Secretarial) 89 
			 9. Administration (Catering) 89 
			 10. Administration (Physical Education) 92 
			 11. Administration (Training) 87 
			 12. Medical 84 
			 13. Medical Support 83 
			 14. Dental 92 
			 15. Chaplains 88 
			 16. Legal 91 
			 17. Weapons Support Operator (Linguists) 53 
			 18. Weapons Support Operator (Air Loadmaster) 94 
			 19. General Technician Electronics 91 
			 20. Environmental Health Technician 87 
			 21. Gunner 95 
			 22. Air Traffic Control/Flight Operations Manager/ Flight Operations Assistant 94 
			 23. Aero Systems Manager/Operator 95 
			 24. Air Cartographer 93 
			 25. Medical Administrator/ Assistant 93 
			 26. Psychiatric Health Technician 78 
			 27. Staff Nurse 75 
			 28. Dental Technician 78 
			 29. Dental Hygienist 58 
			 30. Laboratory Technician 78 
			 31. Radiographer 63 
			 32. Operating Theatre Technician 87 
			 33. Movements Operator/Controller (5)1,01 
			 34. Mechanical Transport Technician (5)1,01 
			 35. Mechanical Transport Driver (5)1,02 
			 36. Fire Fighter 96

Cluster Munitions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the failure rate of cluster munition BL755; and if he will end its use by UK forces.

Adam Ingram: The RAF currently operates two variants of the BL755 cluster bomb. The original BL755 and the Radar BL755 (RBL755). Recent statistics for both variants show an overall failure rate of approximately 6 per cent. which is in line with expectations.
	On current plans both the BL755 and the RBL755 cluster bomb will be withdrawn from service with the RAF before the end of this decade.

Fleet Apache Helicopters

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) total cost and (b) cost per aircraft was of the Fleet Apache helicopters.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 March 2006
	67 Apache AH Mk1 helicopters were procured for the Army. The total procurement cost for these aircraft, which includes some support equipment and a two and half year contractor logistic support package but excludes the supporting PFI training contract, was £2.5billion. This equates to approximately £37 million per aircraft.

Fort Halstead

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the disposal value was of Fort Halstead near Sevenoaks, Kent when it was sold to QinetiQ; what priceQinetiQ obtained for Fort Halstead; and what consideration he has given to renting Fort Halstead from its owners to accommodate the Defence Scientific and Technical Laboratory.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The overall agreement for the privatisation of the former Defence Evaluation and Research Agency included £38 million to cover the value of Fort Halstead.
	This figure was based on advice from independent valuers. The site forms part of a sale and leaseback arrangement with QinetiQ, which allows the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) to remain at Fort Halstead for the time being. However, the lease structure allows QinetiQ to rationalise its land holdings at Fort Halstead and provide funding for the eventual re-provision of facilities for DSTL.
	The price obtained by QinetiQ for land at Fort Halstead is a matter for them as a private company; any questions should be referred to the Chief Executive at the following address:
	Graham Love
	Chief Executive
	QinetiQ Ltd.
	Cody Technology Park
	Building A1
	Ively Road
	Farnborough
	Hampshire GU140LX

Meat Sourcing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much of the (a) beef, (b) pork and (c) lamb consumed by the armed forces in the last period for which figures are available was (i) British and (ii) non-British in origin; from which countries the non-British meat was obtained; and how much in each category came from each country;
	(2)  how much (a) beef, (b) pork and (c) lamb the Ministry of Defence was purchased for consumption by the armed forces in each of the last three years.

Adam Ingram: The approximate annual quantity of beef supplied to UK based armed forces in each of the last three years was 1,550 tonnes. Some 800 tonnes of pork and 500 tonnes of lamb (including mutton) were also supplied in the same period.
	In the last financial year, 42 per cent. (approximately 650 tonnes) of the beef supplied to the UK based armed forces was of British origin, while non-British beef (approximately 900 tonnes) was obtained from South America.
	In the same period, 100 per cent. of pork and 5 per cent. of lamb was of British origin. Non-British lamb (approximately 460–490 tonnes) was obtained from South America and Australasia.

Merlin Helicopters

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defencewhat the (a) total cost and (b) cost per aircraft was of the Royal Navy's fleet of Merlin Mark 1 helicopters.

Adam Ingram: The Royal Navy Merlin Mkl helicopter was acquired through a combined development and production contract which did not specify a unit production cost. However, for internal resource accounting purposes we have estimated the attribution of the contract prices between development and production.
	On this basis, the 44 Merlin Mkl aircraft procured for the Royal Navy cost an estimated £1.7 billion. This figure includes the production and integration costs for the mission avionics system and Aircraft Support and Servicing Equipment (ASSE). The average cost per aircraft was approximately £39 million. The engines for the Merlin MK1 were contracted for separately at a cost of £1.7 million per aircraft.

Mine Clearance (Falkland Islands)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK plans to seek an extension of the deadline under the Ottawa Convention in relation to clearing mines from the Falklands Islands.

John Reid: Under the Ottawa Convention, the UK is required to clear all anti-personnel mines from its territory by March 2009. The only UK territory affected is the Falkland Islands.
	Under Article 5, State Parties are entitled to submit a request for an extension of the deadline for a period of up to 10 years provided they have good cause.
	Discussions are taking place with the Government of Argentina to agree a joint feasibility study on clearance of anti-personnel mines in the Falkland Islands, including a field survey of the islands. Decisions on the time scale for clearance will be made once the results of the feasibility study are known.

TREASURY

Call Centres

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1801–02W, on call centres, how many and what proportion of calls to his Department and its agencies in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date were (i) handled by an adviser, (ii) received but abandoned and (iii) received an engaged tone in each year, broken down by contact centre.

Dawn Primarolo: The breakdown of information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Continental Shelf Receipts

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government paid to (a) the Isle of Man and (b) Northern Ireland in respect of UK Continental Shelf receipts in each year since 1976.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows how much the Government have paid to (a) the Isle of Man and (b) Northern Ireland in respect of UK Continental receipts since 1976.
	
		Payments to Isle of Man and Northern Ireland -- £000
		
			  Isle of Man Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 1975–76 18 509 
			 1976–77 23 638 
			 1977–78 76 2,066 
			 1978–79 236 6,448 
			 1979–80 328 8,169 
			 1980–81 493 11,600 
			 1981–82 2,994 39,404 
			 1982–83 1,684 38,801 
			 1983–84 2,484 42,966 
			 1984–85 2,763 51,174 
			 1985–86 2,786 80,511 
			 1986–87 1,129 58,386 
			 1987–88 1,202 26,429 
			 1988–89 795 29,360 
			 1989–90 688 16,972 
			 1990–91 750 16,903 
			 1991–92 599 17,566 
			 1992–93 613 15,930 
			 1993–94 863 17,262 
			 1994–95 779 15,558 
			 1995–96 669 15,638 
			 1996–97 43 18,701 
			 1997–98 0 14,379 
			 1999–2000 0 10,318 
			 2000–01 0 11,474 
			 2001–02 0 16,108 
			 2002–03 0 16,224 
			 2003–04 0 13,176 
			 2004–05 0 2,902

Obstacles to Mobility Study

Mark Durkan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans his Department has to implement the recommendations of the Obstacles to Mobility Study commissioned by the North-South Ministerial Council.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The report of the Obstacles to Mobility Study was published in November 2001. The NSMC considered the report in June 2002 and its conclusions on the consultants' recommendations were published on the NSMC website www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org. At that time, NSMC decided that no further action should be taken on 8 of the 50 recommendations. Of the remainder, 13 recommendations have been implemented to date and work is ongoing to progress 29.

Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average amount of working tax credit entitlement is, broken down by age of claimant.

Dawn Primarolo: The average finalised annualised entitlement to working tax credit, for 2003–04, is tabled as follows.
	
		£
		
			  Average working tax credit entitlement for: 
			  Families receiving both working and child tax credit (annualised)(5) Families receiving working tax credit only (annualised)(5) All tax credit receipients receiving WTC (annualised)(5) 
		
		
			 Under 20 3,575 3,788 3,587 
			 20–24 3,218 3,514 3,228 
			 25–29 2,826 1,590 2,713 
			 30–34 2,566 1,655 2,518 
			 35–39 2,403 1,689 2,373 
			 40–49 2,232 1,636 2,181 
			 50–59 2,167 1,892 2,067 
			 60 and over 2,091 2,057 2,069 
			 All 2,458 1,800 2,390 
		
	
	(5)The calculation of annualised 2003–04 entitlements includes awards that stopped or started during the year as they were contained in the snapshots taken throughout the year, which were used to produce the average entitlement per family. (For further details see introduction of 'Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics Finalised Annual Awards 2003–04').
	Note:
	Working tax credit will also include the child care element.

Tuberculosis

Julie Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to encourage support for the implementation of the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis 2006 to 2015.

Ivan Lewis: The UK fully supports the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis for 2006–15, which sets out a strategy to treat 50 million people and prevent 14 million deaths over the next 10 years. At the launch of the plan at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the Chancellor called for G8 countries to designate tuberculosis a top priority at the St. Petersburg summit in July, and to pledge new funding to implement the Global Plan. At Davos, the Chancellor also announced £41.7 million of funding for India's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme.
	Throughout the preparations for the G8 meeting the UK will continue to encourage G8 partners fully to fund tuberculosis control as part of the comprehensive package of measures agreed at the Gleneagles summit in July 2005. In addition, the UK will push for long-term adequate financing to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM), as well as the development of innovative financing mechanisms to scale up the resources available for development. Last year the UK doubled its funding to the GFATM, and will provide £100 million in both 2006 and 2007.

Tuberculosis

Julie Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a commitment was made at the meeting of G8 Finance Ministers in February on funding for the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis 2006 to 2015.

Ivan Lewis: There was no specific agreement or commitment at the G8 Finance Ministers' meeting in Moscow in February on funding for the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis for 2006–15, which sets out a strategy to treat 50 million people and prevent 14 million deaths over the next 10 years. The UK fully supports the plan and at its launch plan at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the Chancellor called for G8 countries to designate tuberculosis a top priority at the St. Petersburg summit in July, and to pledge new funding to implement the Global Plan. At Davos, the Chancellor also announced £41.7 million of funding for India's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme.
	Throughout the preparations for the G8 meeting the UK will continue to encourage G8 partners fully to fund tuberculosis control as part of the comprehensive package of measures agreed at the Gleneagles summit in July 2005. In addition, the UK will push for long-term adequate financing to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria (GFATM), as well as the development of innovative financing mechanisms to scale up the resources available for development. Last year the UK doubled its funding to the GFATM, and will provide £100 million in both 2006 and 2007.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

English Institute of Sport

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what independent assessment of the performance of the English Institute of Sport has been undertaken; and if she will publish the findings.

Richard Caborn: An external review of the English Institute of Sport was conducted by KPMG in June 2003. No independent performance assessment has been carried out but a service level agreement exists between Sport England and the English Institute of Sport which includes Key Performance Indicators.

Financial Irregularity

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many cases of financial irregularities have been recorded in her Department in each of the last five financial years; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: The available information for the Department and the Royal Parks Agency (RPA) is set out in the table.
	
		
			 Financial year Financial irregularities 
		
		
			 2000–01 0 
			 2001–02 1 
			 2002–03 2 
			 2003–04 1 (in the RPA) 
			 2004–05 0

Gambling

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research her Department has conducted into the impact of the introduction of regional casinos.

Richard Caborn: Our intention is to ask the Gambling Commission to make an assessment of the impact of the introduction of all three categories of new casino permitted by the Gambling Act 2005 no earlier than three years after the award of the first premises licence. We will ask the Commission to advise on whether the introduction of the new types of casino has led to an increase in problem gambling or is increasing that risk. We will also want to assess what the regeneration and other economic outcomes have been.

Iran

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on cultural and sporting sanctions against Iran.

Tessa Jowell: The Department has received no such representations.

Iran

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she has taken to improve the UK's cultural links with the Iranian people.

Tessa Jowell: A number of UK cultural institutions have good working relations with their counterparts in many countries in the world, including Iran.

Public Libraries

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department is kept fully informed of proposed public library closures and the reasons for them.

David Lammy: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) are DCMS' lead advisors in this area and, through their regional office network, take a strong interest in the activities of the 149 library authorities in England.
	My Department and the MLA are in contact with individual authorities as and when appropriate.

Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) assessed on the financial contribution made by sport to the UK economy.

Richard Caborn: No such research has been commissioned on a UK-wide basis. In June 2003, Sport England published the report, The Value of the Sports Economy in England", which presented a summary of the value of the sports economy to the economy in England. The data in the report relates to 2000, the last year for which comprehensive data was available. The report found that sport generated more than £9.8 billion in value added to the economy in England, approximately 1.5 per cent. of total gross value added (GVA) for England. The breakdown according to sector is as follows:
	
		
			  Value added (£ million) 
		
		
			 Commercial sport 3,553 
			 of which:  
			 Spectator sports 709 
			 Participation sports 380 
			 Retailing 966 
			 Sport-related manufacturing 840 
			 Commercial non-sport 4,226 
			 of which:  
			 Higher education establishments 422 
			 Voluntary sector 1,215 
			 Local Government 844 
			 Total 9,838 
		
	
	Sport England has commissioned its Research Collaborating Centre for Sport and the Economy at Sheffield Hallam university to prepare an updated report of the economic value of sport in England and the English Regions to be published later this year.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits (Fife)

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Fife and (b) Glenrothes are in receipt of (i) income support and (ii) disability benefit.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 10 March 2006
	The information is in the table.
	
		Income support and disability living allowance claimants: Fife council area and the Glenrothes parliamentary constituency; August 2005
		
			   Income support Disability living allowance 
		
		
			 Fife council 13,100 19,500 
			 Glenrothes constituency 4,500 6,500 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2.Disability living allowance totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.
	3.People can claim both income support and disability living allowance so the figures will contain an amount of overlap.
	Source:
	DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Carers

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) benefits and (b) other assistance is offered by the Government to those who act as carers for ill or disabled relatives; what measures are in place to encourage higher levels of take-up of this support; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Depending on their personal circumstances, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits. Those who provide regular and substantial care of at least 35 hours a week for a severely disabled person receiving attendance allowance or the equivalent rates of the disability living allowance care component can be entitled to a carer's allowance and if on a low income, to the carer premium in the income-related benefits or the carer's additional amount in pension credit.
	Information and advice about entitlement to carer's allowance and other benefits are available from a range of outlets including social security offices, Jobcentre Plus offices, DWP and other helplines, DWP and other internet sites, local authorities, Citizens Advice and welfare benefit offices, public libraries, health clinics, doctors' surgeries and health visitors. Officials from the Department's disability and carers service also discuss carer's allowance at outreach events throughout Great Britain.
	This Government has recognised the contribution and concerns of carers through the National Carers' Strategy published in 1999. We have increased the funding available to support carers from £20 million in 1999 to £185 million in 2005–06, providing an extra £635 million for carers. We have announced our intention to continue the funding at £185 million a year until at least 2007–08. This means that, by 2008, we will have invested just over a billion pounds in support for carers.
	Local authorities should be taking the needs of carers into account when planning and commissioning all services. Their role is crucial in promoting independence in individuals wishing to remain in the community both as part of the care team and as individuals in their own right.

Carers

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were receiving carers allowance in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many (a) adult dependants and (b) children there were in each claimant's family.

Anne McGuire: At 31 August 2005, the latest date for which information is available, carer's allowance was in payment to around 441,400 carers, of whom 14,600 received an increase for a dependent adult and 12,900 received an increase for a dependent child 1 . Details of the numbers of adult dependants and children in the families of carer's allowance recipients are not available. Increases for dependent children were replaced by the child tax credit for new claims from 6 April 2003.
	1 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate

Disability Living Allowance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost has been of lowering the qualifying age limit for the mobility component of disability living allowance from five to three years of age in each year since the change was made.

Anne McGuire: The estimated cost of lowering the age limit for entitlement to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance was £14 million in 2001–02 and £15 million in each of the subsequent years 1 . The lower age limit for entitlement to the lower rate mobility component remains at five years of age because all children under that age need guidance or supervision from another person when walking out of doors on unfamiliar routes.
	1 All estimates are based on data from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, except for August 2001 to February 2002, which are based on 5 per cent. samples.

Disability Living Allowance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Wales who live in special accommodation receive (a) disability living allowance care component at the (i) lower rate, (ii)middle rate and (iii) higher rate and (b) attendance allowance at the (A) lower rate and (B) higher rate; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Terry Moran
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wales who live in special accommodation receive (a) disability living allowance care component (i) lower rate (ii)middle rate and (iii) higher rate and (b) attendance allowance (A) lower rate and (B) higher rate.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a reply from the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information is not available/held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.

Health-related Benefits

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the (a) 18 to 24, (b) 25 to 39, (c) 40 to 54 and (d) 55 to 65 years age band were in receipt of (i) disability allowance, (ii) invalid care allowance, (iii) carer's allowance, (iv) incapacity benefit and (v) other health-related benefit in each year since 2000; and what percentage of the total population of the Crosby constituency this represented in each case.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member
	Letter from Terry Moran
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the (a) 18 to 25 (b) 25 to 40 (c) 40 to 55 and (d) 55 to 65 years age band were in receipt of (i) disability allowance (ii) invalid care allowance (iii) carer's allowance (iv)incapacity benefit and (v) other health-related benefit; and what percentage of the total population of the Crosby constituency this represented in each case in each year since 2000.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	As this Information has previously been supplied, may I refer you to the written answer I gave on 15 February 2006, Official Report, volume 442, columns 2166 to 2171.
	I hope this is helpful.

Hearing Disabilities

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government are taking to ensure that people with hearing disabilities are not discriminated against when trying to find employment; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: A person who has a hearing impairment which meets the definition of disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is already protected by the employment provisions in part 2 of the Act. These provisions provide comprehensive protection against disability discrimination in recruitment and employment. They make it unlawful to discriminate directly against a disabled person because of their disability, or to treat them less favourably for a reason related to their disability.
	Furthermore, they require an employer to make reasonable adjustments to job application or selection processes, and to premises, practices or procedures, if these would otherwise put a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage.
	On 1 October 2004, we extended the employment provisions to include small employers and to all previously excluded occupations except service in the armed forces. We have been undertaking a series of wide-ranging awareness-raising campaigns to help employers to understand and fulfil their duties under the Act. The current campaign was launched in December 2005 and runs to May 2006. The campaign brochure and website include examples of adjustments which it might be reasonable for an employer to make to assist a hearing-impaired person.

Incapacity Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of disregarding for all benefits earned income up to the value of £80.80 from therapeutic work activity undertaken by claimants of incapacity benefit.

Anne McGuire: The information necessary to make such an estimate is not available.

Incapacity Benefit

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Mid Sussex parliamentary constituency were claiming incapacity benefit in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: As at August 2005, there were 2,100people in claiming incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance in the Mid Sussex parliamentary constituency.

Incapacity Benefit

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants in Putney constituency have been in receipt of the benefit for (a) less than six months, (b) between six months and one year, (c) one to three years, (d) three to five years and (e) five years or more; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The available information on the number of people claiming incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in the Putney parliamentary constituency; by duration as at August 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 All durations 2,900 
			 Up to 6 months 300 
			 6 months up to 1 year 200 
			 1 year and up to 3 years 600 
			 3 years and up to 5 years 400 
			 5 years and over 1,500 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2.'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance claimants, including IB credits only cases.
	Source:
	Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data

Incapacity Benefit

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the most common medical conditions for which incapacity benefit claimants in Stroud constituency receive the benefit.

Anne McGuire: The available information on the primary diagnosis for incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in the Stroud parliamentary constituency; by primary diagnosis, August 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 All Diagnoses 3,000 
			 Neoplasms 100 
			 Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases — 
			 Mental and Behavioural Disorders 1,200 
			 Diseases of the Nervous System 200 
			 Diseases of the Circulatory System 100 
			 Diseases of the Respiratory System 100 
			 Diseases of the Digestive System — 
			 Diseases of the Musculoskeletal system and Connective Tissue 500 
			 Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory  findings, not elsewhere classified 400 
			 Injury, Poisoning and certain other consequences of external  causes 200 
			 Other Diagnoses 200 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2.—" denotes nil or negligible.
	3.'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance cases, including IB credits only cases.
	4.All diagnoses are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, published by the World Health Organisation.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Jobcentre Plus

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of job losses in Jobcentre Plus offices in Dewsbury constituency which may result from his Department's modernisation and efficiency programme.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your question asking what estimate he has made of the number of job losses in Jobcentre Plus offices in Dewsbury constituency which may result from his Department's modernisation and efficiency programme. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	As announced in the 2004 Spending Review, the Department has plans to reduce overall staff numbers by 30,000 by 31 March 2008. Our staffing plans for Dewsbury take account of the challenging headcount targets Jobcentre Plus has to meet annually up to 2008 as part of the wider DWP Efficiency Challenge.
	The number of Jobcentre Plus full-time equivalent staff in Dewsbury reduced from 120.5 at the end of April 2005 to 105.8 on 31 January 2006, an overall reduction of 12 percent.
	The budget allocation 2006/07 for the West Yorkshire District, which includes Dewsbury, has yet to be finalised. At the moment planning assumptions are that staffing in West Yorkshire will reduce further by approximately 5 per cent. by the end of 2006/07.

Pathways to Work

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) claimants and (b) volunteers participated in each phase of each Pathways to Work pilot in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

State Pension

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what advice he received from the Government Actuary on the reduction of national insurance contributions for those contracted out of the state second pension; what rebate the Treasury allows; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: A report by the Government Actuary setting out his recommendations on the reduced rates of national insurance contributions, rebates and minimum contributions that should apply from April 2007 was laid before Parliament on 1 March 2006. Decisions on those reduced rates, rebates and minimum contributions are for the Secretary of State and his report together with a draft Order setting out his proposals was also laid before Parliament on 1 March. There will be an opportunity for both Houses to debate the details set out in the draft Order before it is made.

State Pension

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether UK citizens who have paid the necessary national insurance and taxes in the UK and are resident in Spain are entitled to receive a full state pension; what other benefits and services they are entitled to; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Under EC law on the co-ordination of social security, UK citizens residing in Spain:
	(a) receive their entitlements to UK State pension, including annual up-ratings, in full;
	(b) are eligible for winter fuel payments if aged 60 or over provided they became entitled before leaving the UK;
	(c) if entitled to bereavement benefits, receive them at the same rate as if they were living in the UK;
	(d) can receive incapacity benefit (payable to people under pension age who are incapable of work) if they became entitled before leaving the UK or, in certain circumstances, if the incapacity began after they have moved to Spain
	(e) can receive industrial injuries disablement benefit for an industrial accident or disease contracted in the UK;
	(f) are entitled to Spain's health care on the same basis as Spanish nationals, at the UK's expense, if they receive a state pension, bereavement benefit, incapacity benefit or industrial injuries disablement benefit only from the UK;
	(g) can receive child benefit and, depending on their income, child tax credit if they are receiving UK State pension, bereavement benefit, or incapacity benefit;
	(h) can, if under state pension age, receive contributory jobseeker's allowance on the basis of recent national insurance contributions for up to three months if they are looking for work in Spain;
	(i) can receive maternity allowance on the basis of recent earnings in the UK.
	Depending on what provision Spain makes for its residents, UK citizens living there may receive some benefits or services from Spain.

Welfare Reform Green Paper

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what effect he expects the new employment and support allowance proposed in the Green Paper A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work" to have on the number of claimants subject to means testing in each year from 2008 to 2018.

Margaret Hodge: Analysis on the number of claimants subject to means testing is not currently available up to 2018. Claimants will be able to access either the contributory or income related strand of the proposed employment and support allowance depending on their contribution history and personal circumstances.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Africa

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of oil exploration and extraction in Africa.

Ian Pearson: The Government works with African Governments, international oil companies and other partners to mitigate some of the negative impacts associated with oil exploration and extraction. We continue to encourage producer countries within Africa to set clear and rigorous environmental standards by which the oil industry must operate. Similarly, we continue to promote the requirement for international oil and gas companies to operate to international standards across Africa.

Africa

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of oil exploration and extraction in (a) Tanzania, (b) Uganda, (c) Cameroon and (d) Chad upon (i) poverty reduction, (ii) good governance, transparency and corruption and (iii) human rights.

Ian Pearson: Tanzania and Uganda have relatively low levels of activity in the oil sector and it is too early to judge what future impact there may be of increased activity in the sector.
	We judge the prospects for economic growth and prosperity through oil exploration and extraction in Chad as positive. We are committed to ensuring that poverty reduction, good governance, transparency, corruption and human rights are addressed through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) mechanism, which Chad has signed up to but is yet to implement. We encourage the Government of Chad to work with the World Bank in relation to current differences in order to address its current financial crisis, while protecting its poverty reduction programmes.
	We welcome the Government of Cameroon's commitment to the EITI process and encourage full implementation to ensure that oil revenues are committed to the betterment of the people. Cameroon is also heavily committed to a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility programme and starting debt relief. As a part of this process and in support of good governance targets, the international financial institutions carefully monitor Cameroon's revenue and expenditure records.

Africa

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of (a) Tanzania, (b) Uganda, (c) Cameroon and (d) Chad regarding (i)good governance and (ii) corruption.

Ian Pearson: Our High Commission in Dar es Salaam has had recent discussions with, among others, the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Tanzania. On each occasion, High Commission officials commended the high priority given by the new Tanzanian Government to the promotion of good governance, notably on Zanzibar, and the fight against corruption.
	On 7 March, our High Commissioner in Kampala took part in discussions with President Museveni which covered the conduct of the recent elections and the need to promote good governance. The UK is a leading member of the anti-corruption donor group which has regular discussions with the Government about corruption, including on the recent problem of financial mismanagement of Global Fund resources.
	My noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, met with Prime Minister Inoni of Cameroon on 7 March. He praised the Government of Cameroon's recent commitment to tackling corruption and encouraged them to continue the progress they have made towards improved governance.
	The focus of our discussions with Chad is through the EU and the Heads of Mission of member states who are resident in N'Djamena. Governance and corruption issues are an important part of the EU/Chad agenda.

Africa

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of oil exploration and extraction in (a) Equatorial Guinea, (b) Sao Tome", (c) Congo-Brazzaville, (d) Gabon and (e) Madagascar upon (i)poverty reduction, (ii) good governance, transparency and corruption and (iii) human rights.

Ian Pearson: We encourage Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon and Madagascar to adopt and implement the principles enshrined in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which will help promote poverty reduction, good governance, transparency and human rights.
	We welcome the fact that Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have committed themselves to EITI. We encourage all states with extractive industries to do so.

Alcoholic Beverages (Government Stock)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the estimated value is of central Government's stock of alcoholic beverages; and how many bottles of (a) wine, (b) beer, (c) spirits and (d) other alcoholic beverages are held by the Government for entertainment and other purposes.

Jack Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for the administration of the Government Hospitality wine cellar. The cellar contains a mixture of fine and beverage wines, spirits, liqueurs and beers. The current estimated value is approximately £640,000, based on cost price. The cellar contains just under 35,000 bottles, of which fewer than 300 are spirits and liqueurs. Beer is not held in large quantities, and is bought on an ad hoc basis, depending on requirements.

Chad

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to help defend democracy in Chad.

Ian Pearson: The Foreign Minister of Chad, Allam-mi Ahmad, called on our Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York on 9 January 2006. They discussed the security situation on the Chad/Darfur border and the negative impact it is having on the fragile democracy within Chad. We encouraged the Government of Chad to act with restraint.
	There is no resident UK mission in N'Djamena so our main engagement in-country is through resident EU Heads of Mission. Governance is part of the EU/Chad dialogue.
	Chad is due to hold Presidential elections in May 2006. The UK calls upon the Chadian authorities to ensure that the elections are peaceful, free and fair.

Chad-Cameroon Pipeline

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received regarding the Chad-Cameroon pipeline; what assessment he has made of its operation; and what assessment he has made of its impact on (a) poverty reduction, (b) good governance, transparency and corruption, (c) human rights and (d) civil society.

Ian Pearson: We have received representations from the World Bank and Amnesty International on the Chad-Cameroon pipeline.
	The UK supports the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project and believes it will offer developmental as well as energy security and strategic benefits to Chad; it will also bring economic benefit to Cameroon. We encourage both governments to deliver these benefits while ensuring respect for human rights, local governance, and the local environment.

Departmental Security Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of his Department's security staff will be licensed before the Security Industry Authority's licensing deadline of 20 March 2006.

Jack Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office security guards are provided by an external contractor (Pegasus Security Group).
	90 per cent. of guards applied for the Security Industry Authority licence in August/September 2005, and the remaining 10 per cent. applied subsequently to joining Pegasus after September. Approximately 7 per cent. of guards have received licences to date. 85 per cent. have received confirmation of the criminal record check and are waiting to receive the licence.

Eritrea/Ethiopia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part the UK is playing in the peace talks between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Ian Pearson: We strongly support the US initiative aimed at resolving the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea and are in close touch with the US as this proceeds. In our bilateral contacts with the parties, we have urged them to respond positively, most recently when my noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, met the Ethiopian ambassador on 14 March. We welcomed the recent meeting of the Boundary Commission in London and the agreement to meet again in April.

Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the deuterium-labelled compounds that are supplied by the UK to Iran under the humanitarian exemptions to UK sanctions on trade with Iran.

Jack Straw: There have been none.

Iran

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the provision by the BBC of a 24-hour satellite television service broadcasting to Iran in Farsi.

Jack Straw: holding answer 16 March 2006
	In October 2005, the BBC World Service announced that it intended to explore the development of a Farsi TV service as part of its 2010 strategy for a tri-media presence (radio, online and television) in its priority languages. The World Service maintains a regular dialogue with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about its priorities. This has included discussion of its aspiration to add TV to its radio and online services in Farsi.

Jericho Prison

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the decision to withdraw the UK monitors from Jericho prison was made after notice had been given to the House on 13 March of a written ministerial statement on occupied territories to be made on 14 March.

Kim Howells: The decision to withdraw was taken before notice was given to the House of a written ministerial statement. The letter to President Abbas on 8 March made clear that if the Palestinian Authority (PA) did not come into full compliance with the Ramallah Agreement; make substantive improvements to the security of the monitors; or come to a new agreement with the Government of Israel, we would have to terminate our involvement and withdraw with immediate effect. Our consul general in Jerusalem called President Abbas' office four times between the letter being delivered and the withdrawal of the monitors, noting the urgency and importance of this letter. No action was taken by the PA.

Jericho Prison

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any representative of the Government made contact with the Israeli (a) Government and (b) other agencies in the period between the decision to withdraw UK monitors was taken and the action taken by the Israeli Defence Force on 14 March 2006.

Kim Howells: There was no collusion with Israel about the date of withdrawal of the monitors from the mission. As the Ramallah Agreement is between Israel and the Palestinian Authority we were obliged to inform Israel of the letter given to President Abbas. On 8 March, our ambassador in Tel Aviv informed the Israeli authorities that if the conditions laid out in the letter were not met, we would have to withdraw with immediate effect. No date or timing for withdrawal was provided to the Israeli authorities. We informed both the Palestinian and Israeli authorities immediately after we withdrew the monitors from the mission.

Jericho Prison

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) developments and (b) intelligence prompted the final decision to withdraw UK monitors from the Jericho Monitoring Mission on 14 March 2006.

Kim Howells: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 29 April 2002, Official Report, column661–69, it was the prime responsibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to ensure the personal security of the United States and United Kingdom monitors. Over the last months it became increasingly clear that the PA were unable to do this. While we are unable to comment on the specific nature of any intelligence, there were a number of developments which caused concern.
	In 2005, we received two independent reports which noted that security for the monitors was not adequate. Towards the end of 2005 the risk to our monitors increased: the prison became overcrowded; there were riots inside and outside the prison; there were kidnaps of British nationals in Gaza and in December the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine kidnapped two teachers demanding the release of Ahmed Sa'adat, one of the prisoners. On 15 December 2005, we informed the PA that unless the safety of our monitors could be improved we would have to withdraw. We proceeded to raise this issue frequently with the PA leading to the letter being delivered to President Abbas on 8 March.

Jericho Prison

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what indications of the timing of the withdrawal of the UK monitors at Jericho prison were given to the (a) Israeli authorities and (b) Palestinian Authority following the joint UK/US letter of 8 March 2006 to President Abbas.

Kim Howells: The letter to President Abbas on 8 March, made clear that if the Palestinian Authority (PA) did not come into full compliance with the Ramallah Agreement; make substantive improvements to the security of the monitors; or come to a new agreement with the Government of Israel, we would have to terminate our involvement and withdraw with immediate effect. Our consul general in Jerusalem called President Abbas' office four times between the letter being delivered and the withdrawal of the monitors, noting the urgency and importance of this letter. No action was taken by the PA.
	As the Ramallah Agreement is between Israel and the PA we were obliged to inform Israel of the letter given to President Abbas. On 8 March, our ambassador in Tel Aviv informed the Israeli authorities that if the conditions laid out in the letter were not met, we would have to withdraw with immediate effect. Both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities were informed immediately after the monitors left the mission.

Jericho Prison

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he made of the possible alternative measures to safeguard the lives and welfare of the prisoners detained at Jericho prison once the UK monitors had left.

Kim Howells: We withdrew from the mission because the Palestinian Authority (PA) was unable to provide adequate security for our monitors. The PA was also responsible for the security of the Palestinian prisoners.
	Once we had withdrawn our monitors and it became clear that Israel had taken action to detain the prisoners, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary called Israeli Foreign Minister Livni to urge restraint. In addition, our ambassador in Tel Aviv also called the Israeli authorities on two separate occasions to ask for assurances that the prisoners would not be harmed.
	The six prisoners are unharmed and are now being held by the Israeli authorities. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv spoke with the Israeli authorities on 15 March to: request access to the ex-Jericho prisoners by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); seek assurances that the prisoners would have access to lawyers; and that any trial for the prisoners would be fair and transparent.

Nigeria

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received regarding sectarian violence in Nigeria.

Ian Pearson: Hon. Members, members of the public and civil society and faith based organisations have written to us about sectarian violence in Nigeria. We regularly raise such incidents with the Nigerian Federal and State authorities. We also fund projects to build trust between the various communities in Nigeria, including the work of the International Centre for Reconciliation to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims in Northern Nigeria.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Sudan on the expulsion of Samaritans Purse from the Beja area; and what assessment he has made of the humanitarian implications.

Ian Pearson: The non-governmental organisation 'Samaritan's Purse' have told us that they have not been expelled from Eastern Sudan, but that access to the Beja areas remain difficult. Numerous attempts to improve the effectiveness of the humanitarian response and reduce logistical constraints by accessing these areas from Sudan have not been successful. Eritrea remains the only point of access to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations in these regions. We have made clear to all parties that humanitarian agencies must be given unimpeded access to conduct their work. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development discussed in detail the issue of humanitarian access with the Government of Sudan during his visit to Sudan on 21–23 February.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the African Union regarding support for a UN protection force for Darfur.

Ian Pearson: We have encouraged the African Union (AU) to support the transition of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to the UN. The AU's Political and Security Commission (PSC) decided on 10 March to support this in principle. The PSC also requested the Chairman of the AU to work closely with the UN Secretary General on joint planning for handover. We are discussing with the UN and the AU the possible size, mandate and composition of the mission. We are pressing for the handover to take place when AMIS' current mandate expires at the end of September 2005.

Sudan

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he supports UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's request for extra troops to be sent under NATO or UN command to Darfur.

Ian Pearson: We support the early establishment of a UN operation in Darfur. The African Union's (AU) Political and Security Commission (PSC) decided on 10 March to support, in principle, the transition of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to the UN. The PSC also requested the Chairman of the AU to work closely with the UN Secretary General on joint planning. This planning is already underway, and an assessment mission is scheduled to visit Sudan on 31 March. Following this mission, discussion will start on the possible size, mandate and composition of the mission. We are providing an expert to the UN to assist with the task. We are pressing for the handover to take place when AMIS' current mandate expires at the end of September 2005.

Sudan

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to try to prevent the problems being experienced in Darfur from crossing over into Chad.

Ian Pearson: We remain concerned by the security situation in Darfur and Chad, especially along the Chadian border. Rebel groups and militia from both Chad and Sudan regularly cross the border. As part of the African Union Mission in Sudan's (AMIS) deployment in Darfur, a component is deployed around the Darfuri refugee camps in Eastern Chad, and conducts patrols in border areas. The UK fully supports AMIS and we are providing more than £50 million to the mission. We welcome the peace agreement signed by the Presidents of both Sudan and Chad in Libya on 8 February. We call on the parties to honour it.

World Bank

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the World Bank regarding the tackling of corruption.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, regularly discusses the issue of corruption with the UK's international partners. These have included the World Bank although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not the World Bank's principal British interlocutor. HM Treasury holds more regular discussions with the World Bank including on tackling corruption. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary supports the World Bank's move to mainstream anti-corruption activities in its Country Assistance Strategies.

Zimbabwe

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with the Government of (a) Mozambique, (b) Botswana, (c) South Africa and (d) Zambia on the number of refugees arriving in their countries from Zimbabwe.

Ian Pearson: Our posts in these countries regularly discuss Zimbabwe with their host Governments, including the destabilising impact the Zimbabwe refugee problem is having on them. We also take every opportunity to reinforce to African Governments the UK's concerns about the damage Zimbabwe is causing to the region. My noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, discussed these issues with a range of South African Government leaders during his visit from 2–4 March.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Corporate Behaviour

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken by his Department to ensure that British companies comply with international guidelines on corporate and social responsibility.

Malcolm Wicks: We are committee to ensuring that UK companies apply high standards of corporate behaviour by addressing their environmental and social impacts wherever they operate, including adhering to relevant internationally agreed norms and initiatives. We have set out our approach to encouraging environmentally and socially responsible practice in our International Strategic Framework on Corporate Social Responsibility published in March 2005.
	We already support a range of international initiatives which encourage high standards of corporate behaviour. For example, we promote the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises which reflect the high expectations of business and set out clear standards for their performance including on social and environmental issues. We have written to FTSE 100 companies to raise awareness of the Guidelines.
	We also support the UN Global Compact, an agreement between the UN and business to uphold and promulgate a set often principles covering human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and combating corruption.

Corporate Behaviour

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received on corporate and social responsibility.

Malcolm Wicks: DTI continues to coordinate across Government to work closely with business to create the right framework to encourage companies to make socially responsible practice an integral part of their business operations, to the benefit of both society and business. We have worked to establish the CSR Government website and the CSR Academy which provides companies with skills to take forward CSR, and have funded the Corporate Responsibility Index run by Business in the Community to encourage companies to adopt CSR and benchmark themselves against other companies.
	As part of this work Ministers have met with a number of businesses, business representative organisations and other key partners. Ministers have addressed a number of major conferences on this issue including the one we organised as part of the UK Presidency.

Default Retirement Age

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the possible effect of the European Court of Justice ruling in Werner Mangold v. Rudiger Helm (Case C—144/04, 22 November 2005) on his Department's proposals for a default retirement age.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Mangold judgment confirmed that the directive allows for direct discrimination provided the act meets a legitimate aim and it is proportionate and necessary. The default retirement age meets these requirements.
	The court in Mangold also stated that member states unarguably enjoy broad discretion in their choice of the measures capable of attaining their objectives in the field of social and employment policy, within which the default retirement age lies.

Domestic Electricity Generation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage households to generate their own electricity.

Malcolm Wicks: We have taken several steps to encourage households to install microgeneration technologies that can generate electricity. For example we have
	Provided £41 million of support for solar power projects and £12.5 million of support for household and community renewables projects through the Clear Skies Initiative (which supports both heat an electricity generating technologies).
	Committed a further £30 million to fund the Low Carbon Buildings capital grant programme, which will take over from Clear Skies and the Major PV Demonstration Programme in April 2006.
	Ensured that most microgeneration technologies benefit from a 5 per cent. VAT level.
	Amended the Renewables Obligation Order to make it easier for smaller generators to claim Renewable Obligation Certificates for the electricity they are generating from renewable sources.
	We are also supporting the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill, which contains several measures to assist the development of microgeneration, including a power for the Government to implement a scheme to reward the export of electricity from microgenerators, should the energy industry fail to develop such a scheme within 12 months from when the Act comes into force.
	Future steps we will be taking to encourage the development of microgeneration will be outlined in our strategy for the promotion of microgeneration, which will be published by the beginning of April.

Energy Bills

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average annual energy bill was per household in (a) Wales, (b) England and (c) Scotland in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The average annual household energy bill for the past three years is available regionally for England, Wales and Scotland. The data presented as follows is for standard credit customers. This data is in cash terms and has not been adjusted for inflation.
	
		
			  Bill amount (£) 
			  Gas Electricity Total 
			  2003 2004 2005 2003 2004 2005 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 England  
			 Birmingham 324 333 387 238 247 279 562 580 666 
			 Canterbury 324 333 385 241 243 280 565 576 665 
			 Ipswich 321 332 381 226 231 262 547 563 643 
			 Leeds 319 333 379 239 248 279 558 581 658 
			 Liverpool 317 330 381 261 274 286 578 604 667 
			 London 320 334 386 249 252 288 569 586 674 
			 Manchester 317 330 381 235 243 270 552 573 651 
			 Newcastle 318 332 383 250 256 288 568 588 671 
			 Nottingham 312 331 381 228 239 266 540 570 647 
			 Plymouth 322 334 387 269 273 308 591 607 695 
			 Southampton 322 336 388 255 264 285 577 600 673 
			   
			 Wales  
			 Cardiff 318 335 389 283 292 315 601 627 704 
			   
			 Scotland  
			 Aberdeen 320 332 382 275 291 304 595 623 686 
			 Edinburgh 320 332 382 266 286 316 586 618 698

Energy Bills

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the (a) cost in real terms and (b) percentage increase on the previous year of (i) gas and (ii) electricity prices in each year since the industries were privatised.

Malcolm Wicks: Prices for gas and electricity are shown for domestic and industrial consumers. The average annual prices for each fuel since 1990 in pence per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh) are as follows. These are in real 2005 price terms and have therefore been adjusted for inflation.
	
		Table 1: Energy prices in real 2005 prices
		
			  Domestic (p/kWh) Industrial (p/kWh) 
			  Gas Electricity Gas Electricity 
		
		
			 1990 2.4 10.1 1.2 6.1 
			 1991 2.4 10.5 1.2 5.9 
			 1992 2.3 10.6 1.2 6.0 
			 1993 2.2 10.3 1.1 6.1 
			 1994 2.3 10.5 1.1 5.8 
			 1995 2.3 10.3 0.9 5.6 
			 1996 2.2 9.9 0.7 5.2 
			 1997 2.1 9.2 0.7 4.8 
			 1998 2.0 8.5 0.7 4.6 
			 1999 2.0 8.2 0.7 4.5 
			 2000 1.9 8.0 0.7 4.2 
			 2001 1.9 7.7 1.0 3.9 
			 2002 2.0 7.5 1.0 3.7 
			 2003 1.9 7.4 1.0 3.5 
			 2004 2.0 7.7 1.0 3.7 
			 2005 2.2 8.2 1.2 4.6 
		
	
	Percentages real terms year-on-year changes for gas and electricity prices are shown for domestic and industrial consumers.
	
		Table 2: Year-on-year price changes since 1990 -- Percentage
		
			  Domestic (p/kWh) Industrial (p/kWh) 
			  Gas Electricity Gas Electricity 
		
		
			 1990–91 0 +3 -5 -3 
			 1991–92 -4 +1 0 +2 
			 1992–93 -6 -3 -4 +2 
			 1993–94 +4 +2 -1 -5 
			 1994–95 +1 -1 -15 -4 
			 1995–96 -3 -4 -29 -7 
			 1996–97 -4 -8 +2 -8 
			 1997–98 -6 -7 +3 -4 
			 1998–99 -3 -3 -3 -2 
			 1999–2000 -4 -3 +7 -8 
			 2000–01 0 -3 +38 -5 
			 2001–02 +3 -3 -5 -5 
			 2002–03 -1 -2 0 -6 
			 2003–04 +5 +4 +8 +6 
			 2004–05 +10 +7 +18 +23

Energy Bills

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade andIndustry how many times (a) his Department and (b) Ofgas has (i) approved and (ii) not approved increases in gas and energy prices since privatisation.

Malcolm Wicks: Neither Government nor Ofgem, the industry regulator, have a role in approving increases in gas prices and energy. Gas and energy prices are determined by the operation of fully functioning gas and electricity markets. Ofgem works to ensure that those markets operate effectively and monitors the conduct of companies within the market, in order to protect the interests of customers.

Exports/Inward Investment

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he plans to make of the UK's inward investment and export promotion policy in comparison with those of the UK's major competitors in the EU.

Ian Pearson: UK Trade and Investment is in regular contact with inward investment and trade promotion organisations in the EU. Work to benchmark the promotional activities of the main European Investment Promotion Agencies is currently under way. On the trade side, UKTI has contributed to several benchmarking studies in recent years and is currently assessing options for further work in this area.

Fuel Poverty

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of domestic energy consumers living in fuel poverty.

Malcolm Wicks: Fuel poverty is devolved, so the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department for Social Development are responsible for tackling fuel poverty in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for the Government's main fuel poverty programme in England, Warm Front.
	The Department of Trade and Industry has a number of policies to tackle the issue of fuel poverty. It has liaised closely with energy suppliers on the development of the Home Heat Helpline, which provides vulnerable customers and their representatives with a central point of information relating to the help available from their energy supplier and Government. It has encouraged the introduction of social tariffs and price freezes for fuel poor and low income customers. It is also working to build up networks to deliver energy-related assistance with the voluntary sector.
	The Department's Design and Demonstration Unit is a team of private sector secondees that works in support of Energy White Paper objectives. As part of the unit's work, it has designed and delivered projects to provide gas connections to deprived communities, and it is nowdeveloping community projects utilising renewable technologies.
	The Department is also taking forward work in the context of the Energy Review on the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the light of rising energy prices.

Fuel Poverty

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the additional measures and resources needed to meet fuel poverty targets to take into account increases in household fuel bills since 2003.

Malcolm Wicks: Work on the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the light of rising energy prices is being taken forward in the context of the Energy Review.

Fuel Poverty

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the potential effect on the (a) number and (b) proportion of pensioners in Wales that will be living in fuel poverty after the gas price increases planned by energy companies in March; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of pensioners in Wales were living in fuel poverty in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Fuel poverty is devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government, and falls within the portfolio of the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration.
	The first indications from the Assembly Government's Living in Wales survey are that around 130,000 households were living in fuel poverty in 2004, which represents 11 per cent. of Welsh households.
	A full report analysing the fuel poverty statistics by categories such as household age and composition, property age and type is being commissioned. This report will update the fuel poverty figure to take into account increases in incomes and fuel prices since the property survey took place. The report will also model future fuel prices to produce scenarios of the number of households who might be in fuel poverty to 2010.

Fuel Poverty

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how many people in Wales are living in fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will be living in fuel poverty in Wales after the gas price increases announced by energy companies in March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answers 15 March 2006
	Fuel poverty is devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government, and falls within the portfolio of the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration.
	The first indications from the Assembly Government's Living in Wales survey are that around 130,000 households were living in fuel poverty in 2004, which represents 11 per cent. of Welsh households.
	A full report analysing the fuel poverty statistics by categories such as household age and composition, property age and type is being commissioned. This report will update the fuel poverty figure to take into account increases in incomes and fuel prices since the property survey took place. The report will also model future fuel prices to produce scenarios of the number of households who might be in fuel poverty to 2010.

ICI (Child Labour)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with ICI regarding (a) child labour and (b) its fulfilment of its corporate and social responsibility.

Alun Michael: I have not met ICI over the last year.

Imported Manufactured Goods

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) name and (b) composition is of the EU committee which sets the tariff rates for imported manufactured goods.

Ian Pearson: The EU tariff regime was negotiated and agreed when the European Community was first set up. Amendments to the EU tariff can be made by a number of different EU Council working groups or committees but would most likely be made through either the Article 133" or the Customs Union" committees. These committees are made up of representatives of the European Commission, member states and the European Council Secretariat. In all cases, changes would have to be formally approved at a meeting of the European Council of Ministers.

Industrial Diseases

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal health claims for vibration white finger from residents of (a) Lancashire and (b) West Lancashire have been processed; and how many are still outstanding from West Lancashire.

Malcolm Wicks: 590 vibration white finger claims have been registered from Lancashire 1 and 31 from West Lancashire of which 11 have not yet been settled.
	 1 Lancashire is categorised by the following postcodes:
	BB5
	PR6
	BB7
	PR4
	LA3
	L40
	PR3
	WN6
	BL6
	PR3
	BB8
	LA2
	PR5
	BB2
	FY6
	LA6
	WN6
	BB11
	PR7
	PR3
	LA2
	LA4
	PR3
	BL7
	L39
	L40
	PR5
	BB7
	PR4
	PR4
	PR5
	WN8
	LA2
	LA5
	BB3
	PR3
	FY6
	BB9
	L40
	PR4
	OL13
	PR4
	BB7
	PR3
	LA1
	L39
	LA5
	BB7
	BB8
	LA2
	BB8
	BB6
	PR5
	LA3
	WN8
	OL12
	BB1
	PR3
	PR7
	FY6
	PR3
	BB12
	BB7
	FY1
	PR7
	FY7
	PR4
	PR4
	WN8
	FY8
	BB7
	FY5
	PR3
	LA2
	FY8
	BB7
	PR3

Industrial Diseases

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry how many coal health claims for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from residents of (a) Lancashire and (b) West Lancashire constituency have been processed; and how many are still outstanding from West Lancashire.

Malcolm Wicks: 5,649 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims have been registered from Lancashire 1 and 472 from West Lancashire of which 245 have not yet been settled.
	 1 Lancashire is categorised by the following postcodes:
	BB5
	PR6
	BB7
	PR4
	LA3
	L40
	PR3
	WN6
	BL6
	PR3
	BB8
	LA2
	PR5
	BB2
	FY6
	LA6
	WN6
	BB11
	PR7
	PR3
	LA2
	LA4
	PR3
	BL7
	L39
	L40
	PR5
	BB7
	PR4
	PR4
	PR5
	WN8
	LA2
	LA5
	BB3
	PR3
	FY6
	BB9
	L40
	PR4
	OL13
	PR4
	BB7
	PR3
	LA1
	L39
	LA5
	BB7
	BB8
	LA2
	BB8
	BB6
	PR5
	LA3
	WN8
	OL12
	BB1
	PR3
	PR7
	FY6
	PR3
	BB12
	BB7
	FY1
	PR7
	FY7
	PR4
	PR4
	WN8
	FY8
	BB7
	FY5
	PR3
	LA2
	FY8
	BB7
	PR3

Internet

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to discuss the monitoring of the internet.

Alun Michael: DTI Ministers have not met the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the US-based private-sector company responsible for the international coordination of the Internet domain name and addressing system, but DTI officials represent the UK on ICANN's governmental advisory committee, which is the channel for governments to comment on public policy issues arising from ICANN's work.
	Last November I had useful discussions with representatives of Nominet, the not-for-profit membership organisation that runs the registry for internet names under dot.uk, to hear their views about the international aspects of the domain name system in advance of the World Summit on Information Society in Tunis.

Job Relocation (Wales)

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs in his Department have been relocated to Wales since 2001.

Alan Johnson: DTFs relocation programme covers both the core Department and its agencies and sponsored bodies. The Department's SR04 target was to have relocated 85 posts out of London and the south east by 31 March 2008 and a further 600 posts by 31 March 2010, a total of 685 posts overall. So far we have relocated 194 posts of which 31 posts have been relocated to Wales consisting of; 15 Human Resources posts to shared offices at Companies House in Cardiff and 16 posts to the Patent Office in Newport. A further one Legal enforcement post outside of the relocation programme has been relocated to shared offices at Companies House.

Low Carbons Building Programme

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Low Carbon Buildings Programme will start.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The Programme will be launched in early April. The precise date will be announced a soon as possible following discussions with the selected management contractor.

Low Carbons Building Programme

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the budget is for household grants under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in 2006–07.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 March 2006
	We are currently finalising the programme, which includes an informal consultation with key stakeholders and will be making an announcement shortly.

Low Carbons Building Programme

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects EU State Aid clearance for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 March 2006
	We have provided the Commission with some additional information at their request and we are awaiting their decision.

North West Regional Development Agency

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new jobs have been created by the work of the North West regional development agency in the last five years, broken down by county.

Alun Michael: Jobs created or safeguarded (NWDA gross attributed outputs) are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Sub region 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 forecast outturn 
		
		
			 Cheshire 147 683 733 
			 Cumbria 1,220 1,497 1,808 
			 Greater Manchester 1,709 1,882 1,497 
			 Merseyside 3,461 2,524 2,349 
			 Lancashire 3,217 2,550 2,733 
			 Regional projects 4,889 2,132 4,272 
			 Total 14,641 11,267 13,392 
		
	
	Note:
	Information was not collated by county before 2003–04, but the total figure for 2001–02 was 29,523 and the figure for 2002–03 was 24,067

North West Regional Development Agency

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of capital assistance provided by the North West Regional Development Agency has been in the last five years, broken down by county.

Alun Michael: The North West Regional Development Agency has provided capital assistance across the region in the last five years as follows:
	
		£000
		
			 County 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Cheshire and Warrington 1,081 1,322 5,993 11,602 6,006 
			 Cumbria 8,790 8,867 16,976 18,020 11,077 
			 Greater Manchester 71,879 59,338 60,764 44,879 46,890 
			 Lancashire 5,032 11,913 31,483 40,564 15,437 
			 Merseyside 28,731 41,986 70,331 26,500 48,818 
			 Regional 9,589 6,165 11,164 14,227 17,602 
			 Grand total 125,101 129,592 196,711 155,793 145,830

North West Regional Development Agency

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many flagship sites the North West Regional Development Agency controls; and what estimate he has made of the capital cost of each.

Alun Michael: The North West Regional Development Agency has land holdings in seven of the 25 strategic regional sites identified in the Regional Economic Strategy. Its total investment in each of them is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Kingsway Business Park, Rochdale 34 
			 Twelve Quays, Birkenhead 3 
			 Daresbury Park, Halton 40 
			 Liverpool Science Park 57 
			 The Estuary, Liverpool 24 
			 Wirral International Business Park 10 
			 Central Park, Manchester 25

North West Regional Development Agency

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been received from companies by the North West Regional Development Agency in the last five years; and what action was taken in each case.

Alun Michael: In 2001 two complaints were received from two different companies to which the chief executive responded in writing explaining the Agency's position.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the decommissioning costs of each nuclear power plant in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 9 March 2006
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) assumed responsibility for the decommissioning and clean up of the UK's civil nuclear legacy on 1 April 2005. There are three sites in Scotland for which the NDA have responsibility: Chapelcross, Dounreay, and Hunterston A. Dounreay, however, was established as a research reactor site with fuel treatment facilities and not for electricity power generation. The total estimated decommissioning cost in respect of each power plant site is given in the NDA's draft Strategy as follows:
	
		
			  £ billion 
		
		
			 Chapelcross 1.663 
			 Hunterston A 1.214 
			 Dounreay 2.908 
		
	
	The draft Strategy is available through the NDA web site at: www.nda.gov.uk

Nuclear Power

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase the supply of UK-trained personnel in the field of nuclear power generation.

Malcolm Wicks: Cogent, the Sector Skills Council for the nuclear industry, is working with employers to ensure that skills levels meet employers needs.

Nuclear Power

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of availability of trained personnel in the field of nuclear power generation.

Malcolm Wicks: Cogent Sector Skills Council was launched in March 2004 tasked with taking a strategic view of the nuclear sector to ensure that education and training can meet the nuclear employers' current and future needs.
	Cogent have recently undertaken a review of the labour market in the nuclear industry. The draft Skills Needs Assessment document which sets out the position of skills in the nuclear industry, along with the other industry sectors that Cogent covers, can be found on the Cogent web site at: http://www.cogent-ssc.com/pdf/SNADRAFTFORCONSULTATION170206v2.pdf

Pandemic Influenza

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he will be taking to ensure continuity of satisfactory fuel supplies in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 March 2006
	Individual oil companies continue to review and update their business continuity plans, based on advice provided by the Department of Health, in order to protect the health of their staff and maintain the supply of fuel. The representative trade associations are working closely with the industry in order to share best practice in this area. The Department is continuing to monitor the situation closely.
	In the event of a significant disruption to the supply of fuel the Government has contingency plans to control the production, supply, distribution and use of fuel. A description of the Downstream Oil Emergency Response Plan was made public in July 2005.

Professional Institutes

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which learned institutes are recognised by his Department as professional bodies.

Alan Johnson: The Department works with a number of organisations, many of which might be termed learned institutes or professional bodies. Whilst no register exists that defines what might be termed a learned institute or a professional body, many bodies have sought a Royal Charter and are regulated through the Privy Council. Other highly respected learned and professional bodies have chosen to stay independent.

Renewable Electricity

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's target is forrenewable electricity generation in each region by 2020; what steps he expects to be taken to achieve this; and whether offshore facilities are included in this target.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government set out in the 2003 Energy White Paper its national aspiration that renewables should provide 20 per cent. of UK electricity supply in 2020.
	In support of this objective, planning policy statement (PPS) 22 states that regional spatial strategies (RSS) in England should include renewables targets for 2010 and 2020, based on an assessment of the renewable resource potential in the region. These targets
	should be regularly reviewed and revised upward (if they are met) subject to the region's renewable energy resource potential and the capacity of the environment in the region for further renewable energy developments".
	While the Government will have a view on the suitability of individual targets, the targets themselves are developed by the region, based upon the normal process of consultation and public inquiry. Regional planning bodies lead the preparation of RSSs—though a variety of bodies may be involved in developing the targets.

Renewable Energy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households installed wind turbines in each year between 2000 and 2005.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Clear Skies Programme, which started in 2003 and provides grant support for the installation of wind turbines, the following numbers were installed.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2003 36 
			 2004 48 
			 2005 (6)129 
		
	
	(6)Accepted for a grant, of which 36 have been installed and had the grant paid.

Renewable Energy

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much grant funding was directed towards household micro-renewable energy projects in 2005 under the Clearskies and Solar Photovoltaics Major Demonstration programmes.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 March 2006
	Under Clear Skies £398,110 of grants have been offered to householders in 2005.
	Under the Solar Photovoltaics Major Demonstration Programme £2,232,574 of grants have been offered to householders in 2005.

Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to extend funding of the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit after 31 March 2007.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The pilots set up in Glasgow and Birmingham to tackle illegal money lending were set up as a time limited project. However I fully support the work of the pilots to date and we recently extended the funding by seven months to run until 31 March 2007. Decisions on further funding have to be taken in the context of the evaluation of the project, which is currently under way, and the department's wider responsibilities and commitments. I am not yet able to commit to further funding of the project but can assure you that I am giving the matter full consideration.

South West Regional Development Agency

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been invested in the (a) Objective 1 area and (b) Objective 2 area by the South West Regional Development Agency since it was set up.

Alun Michael: I am advised by the South West of England Regional Development Agency that it approved expenditure in Objective 1 areas of £116.4 million since 1999–2000 and £137 million since 1999–2000 in Objective 2 areas. These figures do not capture the total percentage of SWRDA's project and programme expenditure that benefits these areas as they are also assisted substantially from a range of regional projects and programmes funded by SWRDA, where expenditure is not directly attributable to individual areas.

Sustainable Building

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the Department's building programme budget was allocated to (a) energy self-generation and (b) water recycling measures in the last financial year.

Alan Johnson: The 2005–06 building programme for the DTI HQ estate did not contain any provision for water recycling or energy self generation. However the Department continues to reduce its water consumption through other water saving measures and is now close to the government target of 7.7 cu m per capita. The DTI is also actively looking at the potential for micro generation in its main buildings and this is currently the subject of a detailed feasibility study through the Carbon Trust.

Vanity Publishing Industry

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to regulate the vanity publishing industry.

Alun Michael: holding answer 16 March 2006
	While the Government have no plans to introduce legislation specific to vanity publishing, existing legislation offers protection in respect of abuses which may be associated with such publishing.
	The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 makes it an offence for traders knowingly or recklessly to make a false or misleading statement about the services they provide.
	Under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 a contract may be cancelled and damages claimed if an author enters into a contract as a result of misrepresentation.
	The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 requires traders to provide services with reasonable care and skill. Failure to do so would be a breach of contract which would allow damages to be sought in a civil court.

Wind Farms

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the processes are by which his Department will assess local opinion on the wind farm proposals in Northumberland which are to be determined by the Department.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 13 March 2006
	There is a statutory requirement for notice of an application to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to be advertised both locally and in the London Gazette. Developers are also asked to advertise in a national newspaper of their choice and to post notices in prominent positions in the locality of a proposed development. A period of not less than 28 days from the latest date of publication is given for local people to make their representations to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
	The local planning authority in whose area the application is sited are also consulted. Their views, and those of individuals and local communities, will be taken into account by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. He will also seek advice from statutory bodies such as the Environment Agency and the relevant countryside, nature conservation and heritage bodies before making a decision.

HEALTH

Audiology

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the formula for allocating funds to individual audiology service providers in England for the delivery of the Modernising Hearing Aid Service programme is drawn up; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Royal National Institute for the Deaf managed the modernising hearing aid services programme, on behalf of the Department, including allocating funds to individual audiology service providers.
	The programme was completed in March 2005 with identified allocations repeated in 2005–06 to further embed the programme. It is for national health service providers to determine the allocation of funds from 2006–07.

BRCA1 Testing

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the time women wait for diagnostic test results following BRCA1 testing.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect routine data on the waiting time between taking a sample from a patient for a genetic test, such as a BRCA1 test, to the reporting of the result to the patient.
	The ability to test for breast cancer pre-disposition genes has led to a significant increase in work load for genetic services. We are aware that in some instances patients have had lengthy waits and we understand the anxiety associated with this. This Government had already invested £11 million in specialised genetics services since 2001. The genetics White Paper 'Our inheritance, our future' (2003) announced a further £18 million specifically to upgrade national health service genetics laboratories in England. BRCA testing is one of the areas that is benefiting from this investment. Laboratories are now becoming equipped to deal with higher volumes of tests more quickly.
	The White Paper said that as a result of this increase in laboratory capacity we expect that by 2006 genetic test results should be available:
	within three days where the result is needed urgently, for example for prenatal diagnosis;
	within two weeks where the potential genetic mutation is already known, for example because another family member has already been tested; and
	within eight weeks for unknown mutations in a large gene, such as BRCA1.

Breast Cancer

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for radiotherapy following breast cancer was in each NHS trust in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Data on waiting times for radiotherapy is not collected centrally. The NHS Cancer plan set out maximum waiting time targets for cancer treatment which may include radiotherapy where this is given as a first definitive treatment. From December 2001, there is a one month maximum wait from diagnosis to first treatment for breast cancer and a maximum two month wait from urgent referral to treatment for breast cancer.
	In the last quarter, October to December 2005, 98.9 per cent. of women received their first treatment within a month of diagnosis with breast cancer and 98.1 per cent. of women were treated for breast cancer within two months of urgent referral by their general practitioner.

Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were referred to hospital by generalpractitioners in the Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust in each year since the primary care trust was established; how many spent at least 24 hours in hospital in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the number of general practitioner (GP) referrals at commissioner level for Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust from 2002–03 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Collection year/quarter GP written referrals (by commissioner) 
		
		
			 2002–03  
			 Q1 7,426 
			 Q2 7,784 
			 Q3 7,318 
			 Q4 7,693 
			   
			 2003–04  
			 Q1 7,593 
			 Q2 7,671 
			 Q3 7,814 
			 Q4 8,168 
			   
			 2004–05  
			 Q1 8,755 
			 Q2 8,914 
			 Q3 9,008 
			 Q4 8,747 
			   
			 2005–06  
			 Q1 9,887 
			 Q2 8,475 
			 Q3 8,263 
		
	
	Source:
	QM08R data collection.

Children's Hospices

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will visit Little Havens children's hospice in Castle Point to discuss funding.

Liam Byrne: I will be meeting shortly with a representative from Little Haven hospice.

Colon Cancer

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 February 2006, Official Report, column 2110W, on colon cancer, how many people have been screened under the pilot for bowel cancer screening since 2000; how many of the people subject to screening were subsequently diagnosed with bowel cancer; how many were found to be suffering from bowel polyps; and if she will publish the research and independent evaluation of the project.

Rosie Winterton: Since the English bowel cancer screening pilot began in Rugby on 6 September 2000, nearly 204,000 people have been screened. 217 people have been diagnosed with bowel cancer, and 959 have been diagnosed with bowel polyps. The final report on the independent evaluation of the first phase of the pilot was published in May 2003, and is available on NHS Cancer Screening Programme's website at: www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel/pilot-evaluation.html
	The report of the evaluation of the second phase of the pilot is currently being peer reviewed, and will be made available in due course.

Colorectal Cancers

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing (a) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance Improving Outcomes in Colorectal Cancers and (b) the developmental standards relating to colorectal cancer set out in the NICE report National Standards, Local Action.

Rosie Winterton: Guidance on Improving Outcomes in Colorectal Cancers" was issued by the Department in November 1997. It was updated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in May 2004.
	The recommendations set out in the original guidance were converted into a series of measures that have been included in the Manual for Cancer Services, 2004. These measures are currently being updated to take into account the NICE update.
	The manual is aimed at all commissioners and providers of national health service cancer services to support self-assessment and peer review. A national programme of cancer peer review is currently under way. This process seeks to accelerate the pace of improvement in the quality of cancer services across the whole system of patient care. All 34 cancer networks in England are due to have been peer reviewed by the end of November 2006.
	Following each visit, a local peer review report is produced. These reports are in the public domain so interested parties can see how their local cancer services are progressing. They will be able to see progress in terms of different types of cancers such as bowel cancer.
	Once this round of peer review is complete, the cancer action team will produce a national report summarising the outcomes of peer review. This will include a summary of the national position on bowel and other cancers.
	National Standards, Local Action" was issued by the Department in July 2004 and the implementation of NICE guidance is one of the developmental standards set out in this document. The Healthcare Commission is responsible for assessing progress of healthcare organisations towards achieving developmental standards, and they will be consulting on its proposals for assessing these standards shortly. However, the results of the cancer peer review will be shared with the Healthcare Commission to support them in this work.

Coronary Heart Disease

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to implement the new chapter eight of the Coronary Heart Disease National Service Framework.

Rosie Winterton: Responsibility for implementing chapter eight of the coronary heart disease national service framework (CHD NSF) lies with local national health service commissioners and providers. Shifting the Balance of Power" has seen money, control and responsibility pass to local health services so that the communities they serve have greater influence over the way local resources are spent and the way local services are run. This will allow greater scope for locally determined targets and priorities to be matched to local needs. The Department is working with local service providers, commissioners and other key stakeholders to support the NHS in implementing chapter eight.
	For successful delivery, there will need to be effective health commissioning through local delivery planning processes, monitored and accountable through primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many units of dental activity she estimates were provided by dentists operating (a) personal dental services contracts and (b) general dental services contracts between 1October 2004 and 30 September 2005.

Rosie Winterton: The system of monitoring general dental services (CDS) contracts and personal dental services (PDS) agreements on the basis of units of dental activity will begin from April 2006. Units of dental activity are a measure of the courses of treatment provided by dentists, with different weightings to reflect the relative complexity of three broad categories of courses of treatment.
	For dentists working in the CDS during the reference period 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005 who have a current GDS contract or PDS agreement, the Dental Practice Board has used data on non-orthodontic courses of treatment, together with assumptions about reasonable numbers of examinations for registered children who have had no other treatment reported, to produce recommended levels of units of dental activity for 2006–07, which will be subject to a five per cent, reduction. Using this methodology, the total estimated units of dental activity for the reference period were 73.4 million.
	For dentists with PDS pilot agreements, the Dental Practice Board has provided primary care trusts with available data on courses of treatment reported during the reference period, with an estimated conversion to units of dental activity. It is not possible to estimate the total units of dental activity provided during the period, as the data are not complete and there is often a significant time lag between activity taking place and being recorded. Activity at the start of a PDS scheme may also not be typical of ongoing activity.

Dentistry

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices had recourse to the NHS arbitration process in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: No dentists have sought to make use of the national health service arbitration process over the last five years.

Dentistry

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs. Moon) of 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 715W, on dentistry, if she will make a statement on the review of children's dental health the National Screening Committee is undertaking.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 6 March 2006
	The national screening committee has commissioned an evaluation of dental screening in schools, with particular regard to its effect in reducing dental decay and improving attendance at general dental practices. At the same time, we are undertaking a wide-ranging programme of reforms to national health service dentistry to improve access to services for people of all ages. Implementation of these reforms will provide a sound basis for identifying the models of service that most effectively meet the oral care health needs of children.

Dentistry

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect on the number of NHS dentists of the new contracts.

Rosie Winterton: The new contracts are not in themselves expected to have a significant effect on the number of national health service dentists. The current indications from the NHS are that the great majority of NHS dentists will agree new contracts.
	From April 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) will have devolved responsibility and ring-fenced budgets for commissioning primary dental services. This means that if a dentist chooses not to take up the new contract, the resources stay with the PCT to be re-invested in local dental services.

Dentistry

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on NHS dentistry services in North Yorkshire.

Rosie Winterton: Across the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire strategic health authority (SHA) area the number of general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS) registrations/PDS patients seen has increased by 26,994 (3.2 per cent.) between December 2004 and December 2005. This rate of increase is above the national average for England. There has been an increase of 45 in the number of GDS and PDS dentists working in the SHA area in the same period.

Dentistry

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of people who will be registered with NHS dentists in each of the primary care trusts in Gloucestershire in each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who will be registered with national health service dentists in each of the primary care trusts in Gloucestershire in each of the next three years.
	The current system of NHS registration measures the numbers of patients who attend an NHS dentist at least once within the most recent 15-month period. Current levels of registration are shown in the table. The dentistry reforms being implemented from April 2006 are designed to promote new ways of working that will enable dentists to see a greater range of patients within a given period.
	Number of people registered with an NHS dentist in each of the primary care trusts in Gloucestershire as at 30 September in each specified year is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Primary care trust 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Cheltenham and Tewkesbury 65,832 63,742 62,221 
			 West Gloucestershire 62,391 65,265 69,495 
			 Cotswold and Vale 67,377 67,416 70,959 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Personal dental service (PDS) schemes have varying registration periods. To ensure comparability with corresponding general dental service (GDS) data, PDS registrations are estimated using proxy registrations, namely the number of patients seen by PDS practices in the past 15 months. There will be a break in the registrations series at the point at which PDS schemes were introduced as the proxy registrations build up. Falls in registration rates will be particularly pronounced in the financial year 2004–05, when the majority of PDS schemes were introduced.
	2.Data for 2003 and earlier do not include those PDS schemes that do not have any registrations, for example, dental access centres, and is therefore not directly comparable with 2004 and 2005 data.
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board

Dentistry

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to increase availability of NHS dentists in Haltemprice and Howden constituency.

Rosie Winterton: Across the East Yorkshire primary care trust (PCT) area the number of general dental service (GDS) and personal dental service (PDS) registrations/PDS patients seen has increased by 2,003 (2.9 per cent.) between December 2004 and December 2005. This rate of increase is above the national average for England. The number of GDS and PDS dentists working within the East Yorkshire PCT has increased by six. The PCT continues to work with local dental practices both in supporting them in moving over to the new PDS contract and to encourage further growth.

Dentistry

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from dentists on the implementation of the new dental contract in Staffordshire.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has received a number of representations from stakeholder organisations and from individual dentists about the new contractual arrangements.
	The British Dental Association (BDA) has made recent representations about the contractual requirement for dentists to carry out an agreed number of (weighted) courses of treatment or units of dental activity in return for their guaranteed annual contract value.
	The Department has indicated to the BDA that we regard the new contracts as offering a good deal for dentists. They will have a guaranteed annual contract value based on their current national health service earnings, which give an average net income of £80,000 per year for a committed NHS dentist, for at least five per cent, fewer (weighted) courses of treatment compared with the current general dental services system. The Department has expressed concern that the BDA appears to be overlooking the evidence of the personal dental services pilots, which have shown that abolishing the fee-per-item remuneration system, also supports dentists in carrying out simple courses of treatment, with more time available for preventative work.

Dentistry

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the availability of free dental care for children within Peterborough constituency.

Rosie Winterton: Dentists working in the salaried primary care dental services examine schoolchildren at least three times in their school career. They also contribute to regular surveys, which have shown that the oral health of children is improving.
	Where dentists advise that treatment is necessary, children under 16 and young people aged 16, 17 and 18 who are in full time education are exempt from charges for national health service dental treatment.
	Recent and ongoing action to improve access to NHS dentistry, including the recruitment of the equivalent of over 1,450 additional dentists, the establishment of a new university dental school and the introduction of local commissioning responsibilities for primary care trusts, will benefit both children and their families.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff have been investigated for allegedly administering electroconvulsive therapy (a) without obtaining the consent of the individual and (b) having obtained consent by pressure or coercion in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available centrally.

Geneticists (Waiting Times)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the waiting time for an appointment with a geneticist; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect routine data on the waiting time for a first appointment with genetics services.
	There are practical issues that may contribute to the wait for an appointment with a consultant clinical geneticist. For example, in the case of individuals concerned about their inherited risk of developing breast cancer a detailed investigation of their family history including occurrence and age at onset of any relevant cancers in the family will be required. Verifying this information is necessary before a meaningful first appointment can take place to assess the individual's risk and to decide whether it would be appropriate to offer a genetic test.

Haemodynamic Fluid Optimisation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the (a) cost to the NHS and (b) clinical effects of the use of haemodynamic fluid optimisation;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the (a) cost-effectiveness and (b) clinical-effectiveness of oesophageal doppler monitoring;
	(3)  what recent estimate she has made of the level of use of oesophageal doppler monitoring in NHS hospitals in England; whether she plans to increase this level of use; what representations she has received on this matter; what the content of these representations was; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the body charged with appraising new and existing health technologies for use in the national health service. NICE currently has no plans with regard to an appraisal of oesophageal doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation and the Department has no plans to ask it to do so.
	The Department has not made an estimate of the use of oesophageal doppler monitoring in NHS hospitals in England and has not received any representations on this matter.

Haemodynamic Fluid Optimisation

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will assess the use of haemodynamic optimisation for patients (a) before, (b) during and (c) after operations; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will assess the potential effect on (a) NHS finance and (b) the numbers of patients treated from using haemodynamic optimisation within the NHS;
	(3)  if she will meet the manufacturers of haemodynamic optimisation equipment to discuss its role in the NHS; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what estimate she has made of the (a) cost and (b) savings to the NHS of standardising the provision of oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation during and post surgery throughout England; and what the cost is per patient of oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation;
	(5)  what representations she has received regarding oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation;
	(6)  what discussions she has had with (a) health service and (b) funding managers regarding the introduction of oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation during and post surgery;
	(7)  if she will introduce oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation as a standard treatment during and post surgery throughout the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the body charged with appraising new and existing health technologies for use in the national health service. NICE currently has no plans with regard to an appraisal of oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation and the Department has no plans to ask it to do so.
	The Department has not received any representations regarding oesophageal doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation and there are no plans to meet with the manufacturers of oesophageal doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation equipment to discuss its role in the NHS.
	The Department has not had any discussions with the NHS and funding managers regarding the introduction of oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation during and post surgery, and no estimates of costs or the number of patients treated have been made.

Health Care (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what grants have been provided to help patients accessing sexual health services in Tamworth.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for delivering sexual health services to their local populations and resource this from their baselines allocations. In February 2005, individual PCTs, including those covering the Tamworth area were notified of their additional choosing health revenue allocation for sexual health. In 2006–07, an extra £91.5 million will be allocated to PCTs for sexual health modernisation which includes funding for chlamydia screening, genito-urinary medicine and reproductive health. A further £111.5 million will be allocated in 2007–08. Also, an extra £15 million for capital was allocated this financial year for sexual health services and a further £25 million allocated in 2006–07.
	Data on spend on sexual health services in each PCT is not collected centrally.

Health Education

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of educating the public on health issues through media campaigns (a) on television, (b) in newspapers and magazines, (c) on billboards and (d) on radio.

Liam Byrne: The Department utilises a range of media across different campaigns. Our media schedules are developed following consideration of our audience, and the appropriate means of reaching. For example, national television and press are appropriate for mass public awareness. We assess the contribution of different media, but our evaluation of any given campaign will look at the totality of media deployed.

Herceptin

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has instructed primary care trusts that they should have regard to the UK Clinical Guidelines on the use of Adjuvant Trastuzumab (Herceptin) with or following chemotherapy in HER-2 positive early stage breast cancer published by the National Cancer Research Institute in deciding whether they should make Herceptin available to patients.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts have not been instructed to have regard to the National Cancer Research Institute guidelines. However, they have been alerted to them. A short article was included in NHS chief executive's Bulletin: Issue 300, circulated on 13 January 2006. This stated that:
	The National Cancer Research Institute has produced a UK Clinical Guideline on the use of Herceptin for early breast cancer. This provides useful information to those considering prescribing Herceptin for this indication in advance of a decision on licensing and the publication of NICE guidance."
	A link to the guideline was also provided.

Hospital Admissions (Alcohol-related)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to hospital with an alcohol-related diagnosis via accident and emergency departments there were in the (a) Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Health Authority area and (b) Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust area in each year between 1997 and 2005.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Counts of finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis code for selected alcohol related diseases(7) and admission methods(8) in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire strategic health authority (SHA)National health service hospitals, England 1997–98 to 2004–05
		
			  Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 1997–98 576 
			 1998–99 615 
			 1999–2000 747 
			 2000–01 754 
			 2001–02 741 
			 2002–03 660 
			 2003–04 936 
			 2004–05 1,080 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Alcohol related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes recorded in primary diagnosis:
	F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	K70: Alcoholic liver disease
	T51: Toxic effect of alcohol
	2.Selected methods of admission:
	Emergency (via accident and emergency (A&E) services including the casualty department of the provider) Emergency (other means, including patients who arrive via A&E department of another health care provider)
	
		Counts of finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis code for selected alcohol related diseases(7) and admission methods(8) in Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust NHS hospitals, England 1997–98 to 2004–05
		
			  Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 1997–98 71 
			 1998–99 56 
			 1999–2000 58 
			 2000–01 70 
			 2001–02 85 
			 2002–03 66 
			 2003–04 134 
			 2004–05 155 
		
	
	(7)Alcohol related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes recorded in primary diagnosis:
	F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	K70: Alcoholic liver disease
	T51: Toxic effect of alcohol
	(8)Selected methods of admission:
	Emergency (via A&E services including the casualty department of the provider)
	Emergency (other means, including patients who arrive via A&E department of another health care provider)
	Notes (general):
	Finished admission episodes
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Diagnosis (primary diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episodes statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	Ungrossed data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data is ungrossed.
	Primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality
	PCT and SHA data was added to historic data years in the HES database using 2002–03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996–97, 1997–98 and 1998–99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT and general practitioner (GP) practices and SHA of GP practice in 1997–98 and 1998–99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.

Infertility Treatments

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the availability of (a) infertility treatment and (b) IVF treatment on the NHS in South Staffordshire.

Rosie Winterton: Information about the number of patients receiving national health service infertility treatment is not collected centrally. The primary responsibility for the provision of these services rests with the NHS at local level. The consideration that primary care trusts give to this is part of the range of factors that they take into account, in liaison with local health bodies and patient groups, in deciding their policy on the provision of treatment services for their locality. This policy should reflect local health needs and priorities.

Macular Degeneration

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to the NHS was in 2004–05 of treating individuals with age-related macular degeneration; and if she will make a statement on recent advances in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the introduction of photo dynamic therapy for age-related macular degeneration on the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued its guidance on photodynamic therapy on 24 September 2003. Implementation of the NICE guidance was co-ordinated by local specialist commissioning groups and all primary care trusts are funding photodynamic therapy treatment for patients with both the wholly classic and predominantly classic forms of age-related macular degeneration.
	We do not hold data on the cost to the national health service of treating individuals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2004–05.
	Several new drugs are in the process of being licensed for the treatment of AMD. Pegaptanib and anecortave acetate were referred to NICE as part of its 10th wave. Guidance is expected in August 2007.

Mal de Debarquement Syndrome

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat representations she has received on Mal de Debarquement Syndrome; what research she has commissioned on the syndrome; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I am not aware of receiving any representations on this rare condition, other than questions from Members earlier in this year on 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1066W and on 30 January 2006, Official Report, column 172W.
	The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.

National Radiotherapy Advisory Group

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the national radiotherapy advisory group to report.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 March 2006
	We expect the national radiotherapy advisory group to report to Ministers later this year.

PCT Finances

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much will be taken from next year's budgets of primary care trusts (PCTs) in Birmingham and the black country to cover deficits in other PCTs in the West Midlands.

Rosie Winterton: The amount of reserve to be banked and the terms of the agreement will be agreed by national health service organisations with their strategic health authority (SHA). SHAs are responsible for the financial management of the organisations within their area and for delivering financial planning targets agreed with the Department.

Prostate Cancer

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the research budget for prostate cancer is for 2006–07; and when she next expects to review funding for such research;
	(2)  what discussions she has had on hosting a global summit in the UK on prostate cancer testing;
	(3)  what recent research she has evaluated on new screening tests for prostate cancer.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The NHS Prostate Cancer Programme confirmed the NHS Plan commitment to increase the Department's funding for directly commissioned prostate cancer to £4.2 million by 2003–04. The Department's expenditure on directly commissioned prostate cancer research was £4.3 million in 2003–04, and £4.4 million in 2004–05. Expenditure in future years will depend on the quality of research proposals received.
	The Government are committed to introducing a national population screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed for such a programme to be introduced.
	The Department is supporting the development of screening technology for prostate cancer by having a comprehensive research strategy into all aspects of prostate cancer. We are jointly with other National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) members funding two NCRI prostate cancer research collaboratives and the Department is funding half of the total £7.4 million cost.
	The research undertaken by the collaboratives covers all aspects of prostate cancer and has already generated the groundbreaking discovery of the overactive E2F3 gene in prostate cancer tumours. This discovery provides the potential not only to identify those at risk of developing the disease, but for the first time allows theprediction of how aggressive the cancer will be. Research is under way to turn this into a diagnostic test so that we can identify those patients whose prostate cancers are aggressive and urgently need treatment.
	It is important to note that in order for a screening technology to contribute to saving lives it is essential for there to be effective treatments for the disease detected. That is why the Department is funding a £20 million trial of treatments for prostate specific antigen (PSA) screen-detected early prostate cancer (the ProtecT trial).
	Phase one of the trial showed that such a trial was feasible in the United Kingdom and that the majority of men recruited agreed to take part in a three-arm trial, comparing active monitoring, surgery or radiotherapy as treatment options. The primary end-point for phase two is survival to 10 years, with secondary end-points including disease progression, morbidity, quality of life impact, sensitivity/specificity of diagnostic tests and associated basic science research.
	Since 2004, the ProtecT trial has been extended to evaluate the impact of screening using the PSA test by establishing a control arm to the study. Half of the men in the control study will be PSA tested and the other half not. All men in the study will be flagged with the national health service central registry and cancer registries to ensure notification of death and cancer.
	On behalf of the prostate cancer advisory group, discussions are ongoing with the NCRI and the prostate cancer research collaboratives with a view to hosting in the UK a global summit on prostate cancer testing.

Prostate Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to promote research to find a new diagnostic test for prostate cancer.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 23 November 2005, Official Report, column 2120W.

Reconstructive Breast Surgery

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the number of patients offered reconstructive breast surgery after a mastectomy; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not made an assessment of the number of patients offered reconstructive breast surgery after a mastectomy.
	However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) guidance on 'Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer' (August 2002), recommends that surgeons should discuss breast reconstruction with all patients.
	Implementation of NICE guidance is a developmental standard as set out in 'National Standards, Local Action' published by the Department in July 2004. The Healthcare Commission is responsible for assessing progress of health care organisations towards achieving developmental standards. The Healthcare Commission is currently consulting on its proposals for assessing these standards.

Section 64 Funding

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many voluntary organisations were waiting for a decision on the continuation of Section 64 funding on the last date for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The number of voluntary organisations waiting for confirmation of continuing grants from the Section 64 General Scheme of Grants for 2006–07 is 308.

Surgical Procedures

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in the NHS have received oesophageal Doppler probe haemodynamic optimisation during and post surgery in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Surgical Procedures

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to encourage the adoption of haemodynamic optimisation for surgical procedures.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 27 February 2006
	All hospitals will have a variety of haemodynamic monitoring equipment available (invasive/non-invasive) to monitor haemodynamic status of the patients. This will in turn provide the information clinicians require to optimize medical treatment for a variety of medical conditions.

West Lancashire Primary Care Trust

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were registered with NHS general dental practitioners in the West Lancashire Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): Number of patients registered with a national health service dentist in West Lancashire Primary Care Trust as at 30 September in each specified year
		
			  Number of patients registered 
		
		
			 1997 55,526 
			 1998 48,306 
			 1999 49,393 
			 2000 51,708 
			 2001 50,313 
			 2002 52,575 
			 2003 53,608 
			 2004 55,231 
			 2005 60,640 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.PDS schemes have varying registration periods. To ensure comparability with corresponding GDS data, PDS registrations for established PDS practices are estimated using proxy registrations, namely the number of patients seen by PDS practices in the past 15 months.
	2.Data for 2003 and earlier do not include those PDS schemes that do not have any registrations, for example dental access centres, and is therefore not directly comparable with 2004 and 2005 data.
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact of Taliban attacks upon the education system in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: Statistics on Taliban attacks upon the education system are being gathered by the British Embassy in Kabul for security purposes. Attacks on schools from anti-Government elements are increasing, but it is not possible attribute all of these to the Taliban. In 2006 to date, at least 114 schools have been destroyed, and 18 teachers, 24 students, and six school officials killed. This is a large increase compared to previous years. In 2002 the total number of incidents recorded targeting schools was 9, in 2003 and 2004 it was around 45 per year, and in 2005 it was 99.

Afghanistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the education system in Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: DFID has not provided direct assistance to the education sector in Afghanistan, with the exception of very limited support (£47,000) for primary education of refugees in 2001–02. However, through ourfunding to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), DFID supports the Government of Afghanistan's budget, which finances significant expenditure in the education sector. Since 2002–03 the operating budget for education as a whole has risen by 250 per cent.. Overall civil service numbers have remained stable, but there has been a major increase in the number of teachers, who constitute one of the largest portions of the civil service. DFID's contribution to the ARTF, to which we are the biggest donor, has thus played a big part in increasing the number of children in school since 2002.
	Support to development projects in the education sector was budgeted to rise by 60 per cent. in 2005–06. Other donors have taken the lead in providing direct support to the education sector, including the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development, Denmark, and United Nations Agencies. The UK is therefore also supporting the education sector in Afghanistan through its contributions to multilateral agencies. Through donor support to the education sector, over a thousand schools have been built or rehabilitated since 2001, which has enabled the enrolment of 5.6 million children, 37 per cent. of them girls.

Asian Tsunami

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the progress of reconstruction in the regions affected by the tsunami.

Gareth Thomas: It is important that post tsunami reconstruction is properly co-ordinated and meets the requirements of the Governments and those in most need. We have been working closely with the affected country Governments and other donors and agencies to ensure that necessary needs are met.
	DFID allocated £65 million to meet longer-term reconstruction needs, the bulk of which has been committed to Indonesia.
	Reconstruction in Indonesia is gathering momentum and the detailed preparation and community planning processes carried out throughout last year have laid a good foundation for further progress this year, particularly in the area of reconstruction of infrastructure, including housing. DFID is working through the Multi Donor Fund to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, which continues to remain the top priority of donors amongst fears of escalating cost of building materials, which mean that earlier estimates on numbers of houses to be built by donors and non-governmental organisations (NGO)s are being revised down. DFID will work with the Government of Indonesia and other donors through the fund to ensure that the continuing needs of Acehnese are met despite these challenges. The restoration of livelihoods, including cash for work, training and micro-finance schemes is also a high priority for this year. DFID is supporting this area through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which is working with a number of local and international NGOs.
	There were no shortages of resources for reconstruction in Sri Lanka. Following its substantial support for the relief effort, DFID's focus in the reconstruction phase for Sri Lanka has been to build capacity in country to manage the longer term recovery effort and £2.8 million has been committed towards this, in addition to the £45 million debt relief which is being provided by the UK over the next 10 years.
	By the end of 2005 in Sri Lanka, over 53,000 transitional homes had been built and fewer than 150 families remained in tented accommodation. In addition to houses built by NGOs, a 'home owner' driven approach allows people to take ownership of rebuilding their homes and rebuilding their lives—in effect helping them to help themselves.
	Progress is being made with the fishing industry, which is of key importance to the livelihoods of many affected families. 70 per cent. of people whose main source of income is from fishing have now regained some source of income and the Sri Lankan Government expect the fishing industry to have recovered by the end of 2006.
	Recovery in India is proceeding and our support to long-term reconstruction, through the UN Country Team, followed a multi agency (the UN, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank) assessment of reconstruction needs in affected areas. DFID has contributed £3 million for technical assistance to help ensure effective, transparent and equitable programming of tsunami reconstruction funds.
	The Government of the Maldives have set up a Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Fund (TRRF) to receive resources from local and international sources and to channel these for relief and reconstruction. The international community has provided significant financial and technical support through the World Bank and EU, to the Maldives to help the reconstruction effort.
	The Government are using their tsunami reconstruction program to implement their long-term development strategy of resettling and concentrating thepopulation in a few 'focus' islands. This includes improving services in heath and education and protecting them from rising sea levels.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to Article 5 of the EU common position on Burma, what form decentralised co-operation with local civilian administrations takes on the ground; and which bodies, organisations and departments qualify as local civilian administrations.

Gareth Thomas: The majority of DFID assistance in Burma is implemented through UN agencies and international non-governmental organisations. However, as part of our humanitarian support in response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Burma, a small amount of funding (less than 7 per cent. of our total expenditure on HIV and AIDS) is used for service delivery through Burmese Government technical teams. These carry out specific and crucial work, for example the blood safety testing, national and local surveillance of HIV prevalence, and the township STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) teams under the National AIDS Programme. Decisions on funding are taken after careful analysis of the team and its activities. Funds are managed by the UN, which is directly responsible for all procurement and are subject to audit. They do not pass through the Burmese Government budget.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the annual EU aid budget for Burma was in each of the last five years; how much of that budget was contributed by the UK in each year; and how much of that budget was unspent in each year.

Gareth Thomas: The European Commission has not had an annual aid budget for Burma over the last five years. Commitments have been made through the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), for funding for work on HIV and AIDS, and through EC calls for proposals.
	
		EC aid to Burma, 2000–04
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Commitments (£ million) 6.93 3.98 14.44 9.61 17.24 
			 Disbursements (£ million) 1.73 4.29 9.23 9.40 8.93 
			 UK percentage share 19.66 18.69 19.42 18.12 17.52 
		
	
	Note:
	Technical note: under the EC accounting system, commitments represent a firm obligation to provide specified assistance. Disbursements record the actual amount of funds spent in a specific year. In-year commitments and disbursements are very rarely the same, due to unpublished de-commitments, and delays or problems in project approval or implementation.
	Source:
	EC Annual Reports

Departmental Energy Costs

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004–05.

Gareth Thomas: In 2004–05, DFID's domestic gas and electricity costs were:
	(a) Gas—£137,242.00
	(b) Electricity—£409,620
	We are unable to provide costs for all DFID's overseas offices as in some cases, utilities are paid through local service level agreements to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and cannot therefore be disaggregated. The costs for the remaining offices cannot be broken down between gas and electricity, but have a combined cost of £274,130.

Disaster Relief

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with international partners and the United Nations regarding the UN's role in the co-ordination of disaster relief.

Gareth Thomas: In December 2004, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, proposed a package of reforms to the international humanitarian system to improve the quality, timeliness, and co-ordination of response to emergencies. These are now being led by the United Nations. Two of the reforms are strengthening the role, remit, and authority of the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator at country level, and development of pooled donor funds behind the Humanitarian Co-ordinator to disburse on the most urgent unmet needs.
	A third key reform is the establishment of a new Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to enable UN humanitarian agencies to respond quickly to sudden crises without having to wait for donor funds to arrive first, and to ensure essential humanitarian activities take place in ongoing under-funded, or forgotten" crises.
	During 2005, DFID Ministers and senior officials held a range of discussions about the role of the UN in co-ordination of disaster relief with international partners, including European Union member states, the G8 countries, and with the United Nations, (particularly the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, as Head of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs), and heads of key agencies including UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Food Programme (WFP). In addition, the matter was discussed at the meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council in July 2005, and at the Millennium Review Summit in September 2005.

Fairtrade Products

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of the sale of Fairtrade products on the economies of developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Fairtrade can make a real contribution towards helping poor people to trade their way out of poverty. There are now over 800 certified Fairtrade product lines and sales are growing. In 2004, the estimated UK retail sales of Fairtrade products was £140 million, about a 50 per cent. increase on 2003. This makes the UK the largest market for Fairtrade in Europe.
	By building more equitable trading partnerships between North and South, by securing the rights for, and offering better prices to, disadvantaged southern producers, Fairtrade is helping poor producers capture more of the gains from trade, which is a key objective of the Department for International Development. There are over 400 producer groups involved in Fairtrade certified production across the developing world, detailed evaluation of the impacts of this would be difficult but it is estimated that the benefits of Fairtrade reach around five million people in developing countries.
	The UK Government are a strong supporter of Fairtrade products. Many Government Departments, including DFID, use Fairtrade tea and coffee. And DFID supports initiatives to help more producers benefit from Fairtrade certification and develop new products. DFID has given over £1 million to the Fairtrade Foundation to help spread awareness of Fairtrade and develop new products.

Global Fund

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in achieving the purpose for which it was set up.

Gareth Thomas: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TBand Malaria was set up in January 2002, to date, US$8.5 billion has been pledged to the Global Fund through to 2008. Of this, the Fund has approved US$4.9 billion to over 350 grants in 131 countries. As of 27 January 2006, US $2 billion has been disbursed to public and private recipients.
	The Global Fund describes its results on its website www.theglobalfund.org In addition each month it publishes a monthly report. Expected outcomes after five years of grants include:
	More than 1.8 million people on antiretrovirals
	Over one million orphans supported;
	Five million additional TB cases treated;
	109 million bed nets financed to protect families from malaria.
	The January 2006 report specifically focuses on a few countries: in Bangladesh over 5,000 people have been trained to deliver youth education for the prevention of HIV and AIDS, and in Nicaragua 82,000 insecticide-treated bed nets have been distributed across 36 municipalities.
	To ensure that grant funding continues to go where it is being managed and spent effectively, only grants with satisfactory performance measured against agreed targets continue to receive funding for the remaining years of the grant. To date, the Global Fund Board has approved 107 requests for phase 2 funding worth US $1.1 billion.
	An effective fund means working with international and national development partners to combat AIDS, TB and malaria. There have been a number of initiatives in the last year to move this forward. Examples include the Global Task Team on Improving AIDS Co-ordination Among Multilateral Institutions and International Donors, the Replenishment Conferences and the Best Practise Principles for Global Health Partnerships presented at the High Level Forum for Health. As a result of these initiatives we are seeing the Global Fund further increase its effectiveness.
	The UK uses its position on the Board to work with the Fund and others to ensure the Global Fund is operating effectively.

Green Minister

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work his Department's Green Minister has undertaken in that capacity in recent months.

Gareth Thomas: Following the establishment of the Energy and Environment (Sustainable Development) Sub-Committee, Green" Ministers are now referred to as Sustainable Development Ministers. Sustainable Development Ministers have responsibility for sustainable development policy and operations. In this role, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has undertaken a number of activities in recent months including:
	Policy:
	Approval of DFID's Sustainable Development Action Plan
	Approval of the Policy Paper: DFID's Approach to the Environment
	Meeting with the Development-Environment Group of NGOs to launch the Policy Paper: DFID's Approach to the Environment and to discuss DFID's planned new White Paper
	Meeting with Minister Elliot Morley in his capacity as Chair of the Energy and Environment (Sustainable Development) Committee to discuss DFID's progress in implementing the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, DFID/DEFRA collaboration on international environment and sustainable development processes, the UK Natural Resources Plan, UN Reform and International Environmental Governance and logging.
	Operations:
	Agreement to proposed energy efficiency measures for DFID offices for winter 2005–06
	Acceptance of the findings of the Fourth Annual Sustainable Development in Government Report (SDIG 2005)
	Agreement to meet with the Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission to further discuss the Sustainable Development in Government Report 2005 findings and areas for improvement.

Growth and Poverty Reduction

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research of the impact of varietal genetic use restriction technologies on ecology, socio-economic factors and culture was assessed during the drafting of Growth and Poverty reduction: the role of agriculture; and if he will place copies of that research in the Library.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's Agriculture Policy Paper, 'Growth and poverty reduction: the role of agriculture', makes no reference to genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs). DFID's view, expressed in this paper, is that a wide range of agricultural technologies will be needed to tackle poverty and hunger, from traditional knowledge to sophisticated plant breeding. DFID puts priority on improving poor farmers' access to technology, to enable them to make their own choices matched to need.
	This approach was informed by, amongst other sources, a background review paper, Technology and its contribution to pro-poor agricultural development', which has been in the public domain since mid 2004 and can be found at http://dfid-agriculture-consultation. nri.org. I have arranged for copies of the document entitled 'Technology and it's contribution to Pro-Poor Agricultural Development' be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	DFID's Agriculture policy paper does, however, recognise that there are both potential benefits and risks associated with gene technologies and GM crops, and argues that developing countries should be able to make their own informed choices. To this end, DFID has worked with the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), other government departments and the international community to establish the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
	As a party to the CBD, the UK Government agreed in 2000 to take a precautionary approach to the use of GURTs while research into the possible impacts of these technologies was carried out. It is expected that at the CBD meeting on 19–31 March this year, signatories to the convention will consider emerging research on the impacts of GURTs, including a progress report by the Convention's scientific sub-group. The UK Government have considered this research and do not propose to change their position on a precautionary approach to the use of GURTs. Parties to the CBD will also address capacity building for decision making in developing countries.

India

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to assist women and childrenwho have been victims of sexual exploitation in India.

Gareth Thomas: DFID India recognises that existing gender relations contribute to sexual exploitation in India. DFID India supports Government, and engages with various partners and agencies, to address these issues and broader questions of social exclusion including gender inequality.
	DFID India's £75 million strategic partnership with UNICEF, announced on 13 March 2006, will include activities aimed at addressing social exclusion and securing child rights. DFID India's Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme supports Save the Children, India, which has a programme aimed at combating trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children in Maharashtra. DFID India is also working with partners to help the Government of India formulate prevention strategies to address the issue of female foeticide. Finally, DFID India's dialogue with Oxfam focuses on addressing violence against women.

Iraq/Afghanistan

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many international humanitarian organisations are operating in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan; and how many personnel are employed by such organisations in each country.

Hilary Benn: A number of major international aid organisations, US Government organisations, and United Nations agencies are providing humanitarian assistance in Iraq.
	Major international non-governmental organisations working in Iraq include the American Friends Services Committee (AFSC), CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Church World Service, Lutheran World Relief, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Oxfam International, the US Committee for Refugees, and World Vision International. There are also over 2,500 local Iraqi non-governmental organisations (NGO)s.
	Key United States organisations operating in Iraq include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Department of Agriculture, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the US Office of Humanitarian Assistance and Mine Action. The following United Nations agencies are also providing humanitarian assistance: the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the UN Electronic Mine Information Network (UN E-Mine), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
	Identifying the total number of international humanitarian organisations working in Iraq, and giving their staff numbers, is information that could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost.
	Since the law on non-governmental organisations working in Afghanistan was passed by the Afghan Government in June 2005, a total of 189 international non-governmental organisations have registered with the Afghan Government. Identifying which of these organisations are doing humanitarian rather than other work and giving their staff numbers is information that could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost.

Latin America

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to promote and support good governance in Latin America.

Gareth Thomas: Governance is central to DFID's engagement in Latin America. Our focus on poverty and exclusion means that we are committed to embedding principles of transparency, accountability, representation and democratic development in Latin America. DFID promotes good governance through various channels: directly with Latin American Governments, through the International Finance Institutions, via support to Civil Society organisations and through global initiatives.
	During 2005–06, DFID supported governance initiatives through its Latin America regional programmes and through bilateral programmes in Nicaragua, Brazil and Bolivia. A new programme was established with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank (WB) to take forward work on governance in Latin America—the Accountable and Responsive Public Sector Management and Political Systems Programme (£7.5 million over four years). This programme aims to enhance the impact of the IDB and WB on the ability of poor people to shape, participate in and benefit from more accountable and responsive public sectors and political systems. The programme will support governance reform agendas in the World Bank and IDB. DFID supports the work of civil society on governance and other areas through Partnership Programme Agreements with six international NGOs and through the Civil Society Challenge Fund. We work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on the Global Conflict Prevention Pool for Latin America.
	Recent work supported by DFID on governance in Latin America includes:
	Financial Accountability and Transparency work in Nicaragua with the National Comptroller's Office and the audit of municipal accounts to improve transparency and citizen monitoring. In Brazil, our work has promoted Public Audit as a tool of citizen participation. In Central America, we are working with other donors on a Programme of Fiscal Reform. In Peru, we contribute to implementing greater transparency in respect of extractive industries resulting from the signing in 2005 of the EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) Agreement by Peru.
	Strengthening political institutions and processes has included support to the Central America Political Parties Initiative; strengthening the ability of citizens to voice their demands to Government through work with civil society groups in a number of countries; and work with the EC seeking to reinforce law and democracy in Colombia. With the IDB and WB, we contribute to the development and use of analytical tools that will improve understanding of the political context and incentive structures within countries, including through Governance Reviews in the Andes Region. Work on the politics of the budget process in Latin America is ongoing.
	Conflict and Human Rights work has included Police Human Rights Training in Venezuela and support to a national centre in Peru to professionalise the management and reduction of conflict.
	Strengthening demand for good governance through voice and accountability, includes support to civil society organisations to improve oversight of Highly Indebted Poor Countries funds and work in the Andean Region for poor and excluded people to get state identity cards (Right to Identity). An identity card allows a person to be officially recognised by the state and enables then to vote and access education and health services.

Madagascar

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what arrangements were made for the continuation of bilateral development assistance to Madagascar when the decision was taken to transfer responsibility for the administration of the Small Grants Scheme to the Foreign Office;
	(2)  what responsibilities for development in Madagascar his Department has taken over from the Small Grants Scheme since its discontinuation;
	(3)  what forms of bilateral development assistance were provided to Madagascar before the announcement of the decision to close the British Embassy.

Hilary Benn: I refer my hon. Friend to the responses I gave on 30 January and 13 March 2006; Official Report, columns 13W and 1938W respectively.

Malawi

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) mechanisms and (b) funding are in place to develop twinning and civic co-operation between the UK and Malawi.

Hilary Benn: DFID funded the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme, launched in 1998, which supported 30 technical co-operation projects between local authority partners in Commonwealth countries. In Malawi, these were Crawley borough council with Lilongwe, South Staffordshire borough council with Zomba, and East Staffordshire county council with Blantyre city council. An evaluation of the scheme in 2000 recommended that it focus on selected countries, of which Malawi is not one, although some of the links are still active, such as that between East Staffordshire and Blantyre. In addition, DFID funds, through a Strategic Grant Agreement, the secretariat of the UK Local Government Alliance for International Development, which encourages UK local authorities to engage more closely with international development issues, including through technical cooperation links with local authorities in developing countries.
	The Scottish Executive and Malawi signed a Co-operation Agreement in November 2005 which encourages Scottish organisations and individuals to make links with organisations in Malawi. This policy is supported by the Scottish Executive's International Development Fund. Scottish non-governmental organisations (NGO)s with a Malawian partner are eligible to bid for funds assuming they meet basic criteria in line with the Co-operation Agreement. There are also health links between several UK national health service trusts and tertiary and training health institutions in Malawi.
	While civic and town twinning are not priorities for DFID's bilateral programme with Malawi, the British High Commission supports and facilitates existing links between towns and churches through representation at ceremonies to donate equipment and assisting with inquiries from institutions in the UK or Malawi wishing to set-up a twinning arrangement. DFID advises UK institutions seeking to develop links with Malawian institutions to collaborate with other development partners and to align with Malawi's own strategies, priorities and funding mechanisms.

Maldive Islands

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what support his Department has offered to assist post-tsunami reconstruction work in the Maldives; how much has been spent; what projects have been completed; and what projects are yet to be completed;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the progress of (a) the Maldives Government and (b) international donors and institutions in eradicating poverty in the Maldives;
	(3)  what efforts his Department has made to ensure that (a) UK and (b) EU funds offered to assist with tsunami reconstruction in the Maldives have been properly audited;
	(4)  what conditions the UK Government have attached to (a) technical assistance offered to the Maldives Government and (b) the work which Hill and Knowlton is undertaking for that Government;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the (a) transparency and (b) impact of UK Government aid programmes offered to the Government of the Maldives.

Gareth Thomas: The information is as follows.
	Support for reconstruction following tsunami
	Following the tsunami the UK provided emergency humanitarian assistance directly to the Maldives totalling £1.6 million and included funding to a number of UN agencies (the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF). The activities funded included: emergency waste management; restoration of livelihoods; disaster preparedness; water and sanitation.
	DFID provides support to the Maldives through the European Commission, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
	The Government of the Maldives has set up a Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Fund (TRRF) to receive resources from local and international sources and to channel these for relief and reconstruction. The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have helped the Government to ensure that procedures used in the TRRF are compatible with international standards. The Government of the Maldives are using the reconstruction programme to implement their long-term development strategy of resettling and concentrating the population in a few focus islands. This includes improving services in health and education and protecting them from rising sea levels.
	Under its 2005–06 tsunami indicative programme, the European Commission (EC) pledged €16 million to the Maldives. The UK share of the EC assistance is 18 per cent. Of the €16 million, €2 million will be channelled to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) led programme to restart livelihoods and repair housing on the damaged atolls. The remaining €14 million will be channelled through the TRFF via the World Bank.
	Eradicating poverty in the Maldives
	The Maldives has had much success in tackling poverty to date, with a GNI per capita income of $2,300 per annum. There has been a significant reduction in income poverty, decline in maternal and infant mortality and increase in school enrolments. It is clear that the tsunami will have temporarily affected future progress. Funding provided by the EU post tsunami forms part of the EU's ongoing development assistance for the Maldives and will cover the heightened development needs of the country post tsunami and also longer term development planned before the tsunami.
	Auditing funds, transparency and impact of UK aid programmes
	The fact that much of DFID's relief and recovery assistance is being channelled through familiar partner organisations, including NGOs, helps ensure the funds are spent effectively. Individual agencies providing relief and reconstruction assistance are expected to have set their own targets for monitoring, taking into account the needs assessments undertaken by the Maldives' Government. In line with the Charity Commission's Statement of Recommended Practice 2004 annual reporting on progress and activities will be provided against their stated objectives.
	The European Commission (EC) has also played an important role by gathering data on individual member states humanitarian, rehabilitation and reconstruction funding and putting this on their website.
	The EC and the World Bank have undertaken joint evaluations of the national reconstruction plan (TRRF), as well as assisting the Government of Maldives in taking corrective measures when needed. We will continue to ensure that monitoring and technical assistance provided to the Maldives is in line with EU and UK policy. Regular monitoring of the TRRF will provide donors with the structure and opportunity to assess the impact and effectiveness of the support provided.
	UK conditions
	Aside from support directed through multilateral institutions, the UK also provides limited non-humanitarian assistance, from programme budgets or the Small Grants Scheme to support individual projects that further Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and or/DFID objectives.
	We understand that the relationship between the Government of the Maldives and Hill and Knowlton is a commercial one to which we are not a party.

Nepal

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will cease to engage with state institutions in Nepal and seek other means of delivering assistance to the people of Nepal.

Gareth Thomas: Since King Gyanendra suspended democratic rule on 1 February 2005, the DFID programme in Nepal has been kept under review. DFID has looked carefully at the effectiveness of the different aid instruments we use to deliver development assistance and the risks posed to field staff.
	We continue to use financial aid in health, education and agriculture, where in my judgment it remains possible to help poor people and contribute to progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by channelling resources through Government. However, the political context and the conflict do adversely affect the performance of these programmes and we are currently closely monitoring possible increases in fiduciary risk in relation to government programmes. In other areas such as forestry, infrastructure, water, community support, anti-corruption, support to democratic groups and peace-building, we are channelling funds through DFID managed Technical Co-operation, through national NGOs or directly to communities.
	DFID will shortly take stock of the political and conflict situation in Nepal and the outlook for development work, taking account of fiduciary and other risks and will consider how best we can continue to sustain essential services to the poor, and contribute to progress towards the MDGs and to a future peaceful and democratic Nepal.

Population Control Policies

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Government of India regarding population control policies.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's India country office, had discussions with Government of India (GoI) on population stabilisation issues in February 2006 in the context of the multi-donor review mission of the Reproductive and Child Health Programme, phase-2 (RCH-2). RCH-2, launched in April 2005, is the GoI's key programme to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)s for reducing maternal and child mortality. Population stabilisation is one objective of the overall programme through promoting the principal of choice: allowing couples to choose family size and spacing.
	The multi-donor mission was satisfied that the frontline workers in the health Department do not have any 'targets' for controlling population. The current programme, based on the GoI's National Population Policy 2000, is free of targets. It is based on voluntary choices to address the unmet need for contraception with a focus on improving the quality of services. Many states in India are piloting innovative approaches of partnership with the private sector in order to expand the scope and reach of contraceptive services. Some of the state Governments, such as Madhya Pradesh have reversed their earlier decision to debar individuals with more than two children from standing for elections to local governing bodies. Legislation has now been passed by the Madhya Pradesh Government permitting individuals to take office in local governing bodies irrespective of their family size.
	Further information on India's National Population Policy is available on the website: http://mohfw.nic.in

South Asian Earthquake

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's work in relief and reconstruction following the South Asian earthquake.

Gareth Thomas: The Government are working hard to help Pakistan recover from the earthquake. DFID has pledged a total of £58 million to meet relief needs, of which £53.3 million has been programmed to specific relief actions, and a further £70 million towards reconstruction. The European Commission has pledged €93.6 million (around £63.7 million) to relief and reconstruction. The UK's share of this is around £11 million. We are the second largest donor to the relief effort.
	DFID provided more than £2.4 million worth of urgently needed relief items, including 9,000 winterised tents, 32,000 tarpaulins, 19,700 collapsible 10-litre jerry cans, 36,000 blankets and 38,000 pieces of plastic sheeting. DFID has sent a total of 15 relief flights, including Ministry of Defence airlifts of priority relief items such as water and rations, and has funded 78 relief flights on behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee to ensure that money raised by the public is spent on relief items and not transportation.
	As part of the overall £58 million pledge, DFID has allocated over £19 million in support of the UN's relief effort. This includes £1 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) for helicopters, logistics support, vehicles, and coordination and £1.7 million to United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) for helicopters. DFID further supported UN activities through a £2 million pledge in support of the NATO airlift, transporting relief items from UN warehouses in Europe and the Middle East to Pakistan, and further DFID support to helicopter provision including three Chinook helicopters provided through the Ministry of Defence from 26 October until 28 November. DFID support to helicopter provision did not reduce at this point, but instead, at the request of WFP, DFID contracted four helicopters for four months, starting from 24 November 2005 as part of a £5.5 million package of support to UNHAS.
	DFID also provided funding for an 86 strong team drawn from 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers, deployed under NATO command, to undertake emergency shelter building operations in remote high-altitude areas in the Bagh region. The Royal Engineers unit are highly specialist troops who are trained to operate in winter and mountainous conditions.
	DFID is one of the largest bilateral donors for reconstruction, and is a trusted partner of the Government of Pakistan. We committed £70 million for reconstruction at the Donors' Conference last November. DFID Pakistan will undertake programming for this during March, leading to preparation of a Programme Memorandum for Ministers approval during April. DFID funds are likely to be routed through the Government of Pakistan for general reconstruction purposes as well as some more specific technical assistance funds for capacity building and disaster risk reduction.
	We are providing technical support to the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authorities (ERRA) to draw up a master plan for implementation and monitoring of the overall reconstruction programme. DFID support to the Government of Pakistan also includes developing a single, comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework, providing the Pakistani authorities and donors with a common framework, ensuring no duplication of effort.
	The first £5 million tranche of DFID's support for reconstruction is available immediately. We have consulted with international programme partners in Pakistan and the Governments of Azad, Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) about how the £5 million can best be deployed for immediate reconstruction purposes. In light of theseconsultations, we will be making the following allocations:
	Up to £4 million for reconstructing critical bridges in the affected area;
	Up to £800,000 to the United Nations educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for training teachers and administrators, in order to underpin support for rehabilitation of the education sector;
	Up to £200,000 for TB prevention services and mental health support services in the earthquake affected areas.

South Asian Earthquake

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has for continued assistance for the people of the areas of Pakistan and Kashmir affected by the South Asian earthquake.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is playing, and will continue to play, a substantial role in helping Pakistan recover from the devastating earthquake of 8 October 2005. Our £58 million contribution for the relief effort is the second largest by any bilateral donor, after the United States.
	At the donors' conference in Islamabad on 19 November last year, I pledged DFID support of some£70 million for reconstruction and rehabilitation, making the total UK contribution for relief and reconstruction some £128 million. We are providing support over the next three years, in close consultation with the Government of Pakistan and key donor partners. The UK support will, along with contributions from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN and others, help make a very real difference in rehabilitating the earthquake affected areas and restoring livelihoods. We will be flexible and keep our assistance under review, in light of progress with reconstruction in the next three years.

CABINET OFFICE

Hannington Radio Station

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for what reason the Cabinet Office retains a transmission mast at Hannington Radio Station, Hampshire; to what purpose each of the out-buildings on this site is put; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The freehold of Hannington Radio station was transferred to the Cabinet Office in 2001 as part of a Machinery of Government transfer. The Cabinet Office currently uses the site as a storage facility for office furniture and equipment. The other out buildings on the site are used by a small number of public and private sector companies and organisations who are engaged in broadcasting and associated activities.

Mobile Phones

Peter Viggers: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance is given to Ministers about the use of mobile telephones for transacting Government business.

Jim Murphy: Government Ministers are given guidance on their responsibility for maintaining the security of government business which includes the appropriate use of mobile telephones. It would not be appropriate to discuss the detail of security guidance.

PRIME MINISTER

Alistair Campbell

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether Mr. Alistair Campbell retains security clearance for 10Downing street.

Tony Blair: It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment on security issues,

Anniversary

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether he plans to commemorate his anniversary of 10 years as Prime Minister.

Tony Blair: I focus on delivering the Government's manifesto commitments.

Cabinet Discussions

Theresa May: To ask the Prime Minister which Ministersare prevented from participating in Cabinet discussions because of a declared interest; and on what subjects.

Tony Blair: I refer the right hon. Member to the press briefing given by my official spokesman on 13 March 2006, a copy of which is available on the No.10 website. Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet are not disclosed.

Downing Street (Events)

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list official events held in 2005 at 10 Downing street to which individuals other than hon. Members and officials were invited where the total numbers present exceeded 30.

Tony Blair: The programme of events at No.10 is designed to give access to as many people as possible and includes regular children's tea parties and receptions for a wide cross-section of the community.
	I have placed a list of official and charity receptions held at 10 Downing street in 2005 in the Library of the House. The costs of the charity receptions are funded by the charities involved. As was the practice under previous administrations, I have hosted a number of political events at Downing street. The costs of these were met by the Labour Parry.

Lord Levy

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the activities he has asked Lord Levy to carry out for him since 1 May 2005.

Tony Blair: In his capacity as Prime Minister's envoy, Lord Levy undertakes meetings to exchange views on a range of issues, including the Middle East Peace Process, Latin America and Kazakhstan.
	Lord Levy's diary is regularly published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is available on their website. The latest version will be published shortly.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Adapted Housing

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will provide additional funding to local authorities for the provision of adapted housing for sufferers of motor neurone disease.

Yvette Cooper: The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) programme provides financial assistance to individuals to adapt their homes and enable them to live as independently as possible. The grant is subject to a means test to ensure that help goes to those in most need. Government funding for DFG in 2006–07 will be £121 million, an increase of 17 per cent. on the previous year.
	However, the Government are determined to ensure that grants are paid expeditiously, particularly where people are suffering from degenerative conditions and need urgent help. We are undertaking a wide-ranging, interdepartmental review of the DFG programme and a consultation paper detailing the Government's proposals for change will be issued shortly.

Building Regulations

Graham Stringer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce building regulations to control standards and safety during the installation of oil-fired appliances and oil storage equipment.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 13 March 2006
	Such regulations already exist as part J of the Building Regulations.

Consultants and Advisers

Michael Penning: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 14 March 2006, Official Report, column 2142W what estimate he has made of the cost of providing the information in each of the three categories required.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None. As I indicated in my earlier answer of 14 March this information is not held centrally. To obtain this information would require the Office to ask individually every one of its staff, the consultants and paid advisors it employs. We could not insist that this information is provided and consequently could not be confident in its coverage or accuracy.

Council House Sales

Andrew Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what was the total income in capital receipts from the sale of council housing under the right-to-buy scheme in each Government Office Region in 2004–05.

Yvette Cooper: Figures for the right-to-buy capital receipts in 2004–05 by Government Office Region can be found on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/383/Table648Excel545Kb_idl156383.xls.

Council House Sales

Andrew Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will require each local authority to submit a report to his Department setting out the capital programmes it funds using the 25 per cent. of retained capital receipts from the sale of council housing under the right-to-buy scheme.

Yvette Cooper: We do not intend to require authorities to submit such a report to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Development Land Tax

Tim Farron: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent assessment his Department has made of the proposed development land tax; and if he will undertake a review to evaluate the potential impact of such a tax on future investment in affordable homes in rural constituencies.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The consultation document on the Planning-gain Supplement (PGS), published on 5 December 2005, sets out the Government's proposals based on work by HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. We are currently considering the responses received to the consultation, which will help to inform further work looking at the detailed impacts of the planning-gain supplement on different types of development and on different site types.
	This work will include examining further any impacts on the process by which affordable housing is delivered, including in rural areas. The consultation document proposes that affordable housing currently provided through the planning process should continue to be delivered through section 106 planning obligations.

Environmentally Sustainable Housing

Vera Baird: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to encourage the use of microgeneration in new build housing.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 13 March 2006
	The Government recently announced that they will strengthen the Code for Sustainable Homes. For example, in order to further promote on-site energy generation, new homes that use micro-renewable technology such as wind turbines and solar panels will also gain extra points in the code.
	The Government are also supporting amendments to the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Private Members Bill to further support micro-renewable technology, encourage more action on micro-generation by local authorities, and improve compliance with building regulations.

Home Buyers Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate his Department has made of (a) the cost excluding VAT of a home condition report for larger, detached properties and (b) the minimum and maximum costs of producing such a report.

Yvette Cooper: The cost of the home condition report (HCR) will be set by the market, as is the case with the survey products available to consumers now, and we have not estimated a minimum or maximum cost. Our estimate of £300 (less VAT) is based on the cost of a report on a three bedroom semi-detached house in average condition located in a provincial town. A report on a larger property would be likely to cost more depending on its complexity.

Home Buyers Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate his Department has made of (a) the cost excluding VAT of a home information pack for larger, detached properties and (b) the minimum and maximum costs of producing such a pack.

Yvette Cooper: The cost of the pack will be determined by the market. We have not produced a range of assessments but estimate that a home information pack will cost between £600 and £700 for the average home. The most expensive elements of the pack are likely to be the home condition report (HCR) and local searches. The cost of the HCR will vary according to a number of factors, as is the case with surveys now. Local searches are usually charged at a standard rate by search providers, regardless of the size of the home in question.

Homelessness

Richard Burden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the contribution of the National Rent Deposit Forum to developing best practice in the reduction and prevention of homelessness; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the future of the service.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister strongly encourages local authorities to establish rent deposit schemes and did fund the National Rent Deposit Forum (NRDF) in 2005–06 to enable the Forum time to develop an on-going strategy to sustain the organisation. Officials have also met with the NRDF and provided advice on possible ways forward, for example merging with other homeless charities, generating additional income and /or extending its membership base. I understand however that the NRDF has decided to close. This is a time when the number of rent deposit schemes has increased and been mainstreamed within housing advice and homelessness prevention. Recent local authority homelessness survey returns summarised in Survey of English Local Authorities About Homelessness Policy Briefing 13" which is available on the ODPM website showed that 87 per cent. of responding local authorities have established rent deposit/bond schemes as part of their homelessness prevention services. It is unfortunate that as a membership organisation that should exist on the basis of services it offers to members the NRDF was not able to benefit from the increase in rent deposit schemes.
	Under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004, the Government are introducing tenancy deposit protection, which is scheduled to come into force in October 2006. It will apply to assured shorthold tenancies in England andWales. Following a consultation that ended on 1 February 2006, the Government are preparing the secondary legislation required to commence the schemes. A competitive tendering exercise is under way to select suppliers to run the schemes and award contracts in early summer 2006.

Housing

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect of the house building moratorium in Stockport on (a) the amount of new housing available and (b) the prices of homes in the metropolitan borough of Stockport.

Yvette Cooper: There is no house building moratorium" in Stockport. The Regional Spatial Strategy imposed a 15 per cent. across the board reduction in the rate of growth of new house building in the North West region.
	Stockport Borough Council's Annual Monitoring Report shows that at 31 March there were outstanding planning permissions for 2,784 dwellings. It also estimated that around 410 dwellings would be built 2005–06, compared to the Borough's allocation of 220 dwellings a year in the Regional Spatial Strategy for the North West.
	The Regional Spatial Strategy for the North West is being reviewed. The Government set out proposals to increase house building across the country.

Housing

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new homes he expects to be built in West Lancashire in (a) 2006–07 and (b) each of the following three years.

Yvette Cooper: The West Lancashire district council's annual monitoring report predicts that 339 dwellings will be built 2006–07 and a similar number in each if the next three years. These might change as the regional spatial strategy for the North West is reviewed.

Housing

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government have made available for housing in West Lancashire in the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have made £2,597,000 available to West Lancashire district council over the period 2004 to 2006–07 via the Housing Capital Allowance.
	In addition, £824,000 was made available to the council under the Disabled Facilities Grant over the same period to cover the capital costs of installing modifications to meet the needs of the disabled.
	An £8,449,000 subsidy has also been provided to the Council's Housing Revenue Account over 2004–05 to 2005–06 under the Major Repairs Allowance.

Housing

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what money is available for housing associations to build houses in West Lancashire in each of the next three financial years.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation has yet to announce capital allocations for housing association schemes in West Lancashire. An announcement is expected shortly.

Housing

John Leech: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps his Department is taking to encourage the building of more social rented housing in Manchester, Withington.

Yvette Cooper: Allocations to Manchester City Council of capital funding for housing purposes over the period 2003–04 to 2005–06 total £152.4 million.
	In addition, to support the provision of affordable rented housing provision in the Manchester local authority area, the Housing Corporation, through its Approved Development programme has provided 831 units between 2002 and 2005 at a cost of £57.2 million. In the 2004–06 programme, the Housing Corporation allocated over £2 million to the Moorbank scheme in the Manchester Withington constituency, which provided a further 16 family units to assist homeless households.

Housing

Richard Spring: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the likely effects on potential housing developments on airfields in East Anglia of the proposed change in the definition of brownfield in the Planning Policy Guidance Note 3.

Yvette Cooper: The proposed changes reflected in Annex A of draft Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing" were not intended to affect the application of the definition of previously-developed land to airfields, whether they be in East Anglia or elsewhere in England. Specifically they do not seek to change policy in relation to the potential development of airfield sites for housing.

Land Disposal

Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance is given to local authorities on the disposal of land and other assets at less than market value.

Yvette Cooper: Guidance on the disposal of local authority land for less than the best consideration that can reasonably be obtained is set out in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Circular 06/2003, Local Government Act 1972:General Disposal Consent (England) 2003. The specific consent of the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is required if the undervalue in the proposed transaction is more than £2 million.

Landfill sites

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what regulations are in place governing development and planning control procedures in respect of planning applications on former landfill sites which pre-date the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

Yvette Cooper: The responsibilities of all concerned in bringing forward and approving development on sites where contamination might be present are set out in Planning Policy Statement 23 Planning and Pollution Control" and its Annex Development on Land Affected by Contamination". Potential developers will need to satisfy the local planning authority concerned that unacceptable risk from contamination will be successfully addressed through remediation. Environmental impact assessment requirements will apply if the development is likely to have significant environmental effects. Local planning authorities themselves are expected to plan for land uses that are appropriate in the light of all the relevant circumstances, including known or suspected contamination and, when determining planning applications, be satisfied that the site concerned is suitable for the new use and that the development does not create unacceptable risks. Planning conditions may require that land is remediated in the course of development to an appropriate standard, taking account of its intended use, and that, if necessary, is properly maintained subsequently. The Environment Agency is likely to be consulted on the redevelopment of former landfill sites and may require specific applications for authorisations within the pollution control framework it operates. The Building Regulations 2000 include requirements to protect buildings from the effects of contamination.

Park Homes

Mark Harper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when his Department will consult on the reform of the commission payment mechanism for Park homes; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 14 March 2006
	Provisions in the Mobile Homes Act 1983 entitle park owners to receive a commission on the sale of a park home, not exceeding a rate specified by the Secretary of State. The current maximum rate is 10 per cent. and is specified in the Mobile Homes (Commissions) Order 1983. We are planning to issue a consultation paper shortly which will suggest possible changes to the commission rate.

Planning

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many building applications have been refused by local authorities in (a) the South West, (b) the South East, (c) the Midlands, (d) the North West and (e) the North East on the basis of a conflict with sustainability objectives contained in section 19(5)(a) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Yvette Cooper: Statistics on the reasons for local authority decisions on planning applications are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Planning

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the applications for the development of (a) supermarkets and (b) large stores that (i) he and (ii) his inspector has granted on appeal in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The information requested is as follows.
	
		Supermarket and large store appeals decided during the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005
		
			  Decided by the First Secretary of State 
			 Development Allowed Dismissed Total 
		
		
			 2001
			 Supermarket 0 1 1 
			 Large store 1 2 3 
			 
			 2002
			 Supermarket 0 2 2 
			 Large store 0 2 2 
			 2003
			 Supermarket 0 0 0 
			 Large store 0 3 3 
			 
			 2004
			 Supermarket 0 1 1 
			 Large store 0 2 2 
			 
			 2005
			 Supermarket 0 0 0 
			 Large store 0 1 1 
			 Grand total 1 14 15 
		
	
	
		
			  Decided by the Planning Inspectorate 
			 Development Allowed Dismissed Total 
		
		
			 2001
			 Supermarket 1 2 3 
			 Large store 2 3 5 
			 
			 2002
			 Supermarket 3 1 4 
			 Large store 1 4 5 
			 
			 2003
			 Supermarket 1 1 2 
			 Large store 1 4 5 
			 
			 2004
			 Supermarket 1 4 5 
			 Large store 2 2 4 
			 
			 2005
			 Supermarket 0 2 2 
			 Large store 4 1 5 
			 Grand total 16 24 40

Religious Iconography

David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) churches, (b) synagogues and (c) mosques have applied for planning permission to erect or display religious iconography deemed to be advertising under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 on or around their premises in each of the past five years; and how many of these applications have been successful.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Security Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of his Department's security staff will be licensed before the Security Industry Authority's licensing deadline of 20 March 2006.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The percentage of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's security staff who will be licensed before the Security Industry Authority's licensing deadline of 20 March 2006 are as follows:
	ODPM London HQ buildings—92 per cent. (the remainder will be licensed within 16 weeks)
	ODPM Agencies:
	Fire Service College—100 per cent. (all are already licensed)
	Planning Inspectorate (PINS)—100 per cent. (all are already licensed)
	Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC)—11 per cent. (the remainder will be licensed within 16 weeks)
	This answer does not include buildings occupied by the Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Stock Transfers

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Government plans to take steps to ensure that local authorities which set up arm's length management organisations to manage their housing stock cannot be legally challenged on the grounds of unfair restrictions on trade should they fail to invite private sector bidders to tender for the management contracts; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: In the light of the recent European Court of Justice Case C-458/03 Parking Brixen GmbH v. Gemeinde Brixen and Stadtwerke Brixen AG (Brixen judgment) it remains our view that if set up within the boundaries set out in ODPM Guidance on ALMOs, ALMOs could be classified as in house" provision andas such exempt from a competitive procurement procedure.
	Therefore where the ODPM guidance is followed the contracting of the service should not be legally challenged on the grounds of unfair restrictions on trade should they fail to invite private sector bidders to tender for the management contracts.
	Where a local authority and its ALMO are considering any future developments or extensions to the role of ALMOs they will have to have regard to the Brixen judgment.

Store Size

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many stores with a floor area of (a) more than 3,000 square feet and (b) less than 3,000 square feet operate in (i) England and Wales and (ii) Scotland.

Yvette Cooper: The ODPM produces estimates of commercial and industrial floorspace from data received from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). Using these data, there were 490,603 retail premises of less than 3,000 square feet (278.7 square metres) and 57,618 premises that were greater than or equal to 3,000 square feet in England and Wales at 1 April 2005 (the latest available data).
	Retail premises are those that provide goods and services to the public. They include supermarkets, corner shops, local post offices, financial and professional services (such as banks and building societies), food and drink establishments and other uses typically found in shopping centres. The figures exclude most public houses, car showrooms and garden centres.
	These figures are based on floorspace information for retail premises as collected by the VOA under their responsibility for assessing the non-domestic properties in England and Wales that are liable for business rates.
	The VOA does not collect floorspace information for Scotland, so no comparable estimates are available from the ODPM.

Tenure Reform

Margaret Moran: To ask the Deputy Prime Ministerwhat plans the Government has for tenure reform.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister plans to give careful consideration to proposals by the Law Commission for tenure reform when the ODPM can see how these are reflected in the draft Bill that they are planning to publish this spring.

Urban Community Initiative

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money has been allocated to Dorset from the Urban Community Initiative.

Yvette Cooper: The Urban II Community Initiative supports programmes in a limited number of specified urban areas in England, with no more than one programme per region. The programmes, including their geographical coverage, were agreed with the European Commission at the start of the 2000–06 programming period. There are no such programmes in Dorset.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bullying

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Department of Education is taking to tackle bullying on school buses.

Angela Smith: The Department of Education actively promotes the development of anti-bullying initiatives through its anti-bullying programme. These apply to all forms of bullying whether in the classroom or getting to and from the school.
	One particular initiative is the Safe Transport Working Group which was set up under the umbrella of the Ballymena Community Safety Partnership. This involves a range of interested agencies, including education and the police, in an effort to develop a co-ordinated approach to tackling bullying and other forms of anti-social behaviour en route to and from schools in the Ballymena area.
	I understand that the working group will be reviewing their work and reporting on the project to the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum for their consideration.

Bullying

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress is being made in the development of anti-bullying campaigns in primary schools in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department of Education actively promotes the development of anti-bullying initiatives in both the primary and post primary sectors through its anti-bullying programme. The main developments of anti-bullying initiatives specific to the primary sector are as follows.
	In 2005, following on from previous bullying research which was published in 2002, the Department commissioned the University of Ulster to undertake a further study into the extent and nature of bullying in schools in Northern Ireland. Approximately 60 primary schools are directly participating in the research; the final report is scheduled for completion in November 2006.
	Also in 2005, a 'Primary Pack' was produced which included the production of materials specifically for primary schools to tackle bullying. This work was pursued in partnership with the education and library boards and voluntary sector organisations with a keen interest in tackling bullying. Feedback on the materials has been positive.

Children and Young People

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Children and Young People's funding package he announced recently will be made available; what the criteria are for gaining access to that funding; and to whom funding applications should be made.

Angela Smith: My Department and the other key Departments responsible for the implementation of the Children and Young People funding package are currently working to finalise the delivery mechanisms for each element of the package, including the associated criteria and processes for the distribution of funds. It is hoped to announce details shortly and for the funding to issue as soon as possible thereafter.

Civil Partnership Ceremonies

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil partnership ceremonies have taken place in each district council area since they became legal in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The first Civil Partnership Registrations took place in Northern Ireland on 19 December 2005. Statistics on civil partnerships in Northern Ireland will be published in the Registrar General's Quarterly and Annual Reports. As in England and Wales it is planned that statistics will be made available for Registration Districts where more than five civil partnerships take place. Between 19 December 2005 and 6 March 2006 there have been 33 civil partnership registrations in Northern Ireland of which 15 took place in the Belfast Registration District.

Dissident Republican Paramilitaries

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 364W, on dissident republican paramilitaries, what new information came into his possession between 11 January and 27 February on dissident recruiting.

Shaun Woodward: In my answer of 27 February 2006, I advised that the recently published IMC report indicated that there is evidence that dissident republican groups are attempting to recruit members. I based my information on the eighth IMC report which was published on 1 February 2006.

Filling Stations

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to introduce a licensing system in Northern Ireland for the ownership of filling stations.

Angela Smith: Proposals to streamline and tightenthe petrol licensing regime are currently being considered. The current petrol licensing regime in other jurisdictions, such as GB and ROI, are being reviewed to identify best practice and learn lessons.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) employers and (b) parents were consulted by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment in respect of the Key Stage 3 curriculum proposals for Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: CCEA undertook extensive consultation on its Key Stage 3 proposals in autumn 2003. It is not possible to identify the numbers of employers or parents who took part, as the consultation took a wide variety of forms. These included focus group meetings and briefings with key stakeholders including parents and business leaders. The consultation was widely publicised in the media and consultation materials were made available in a wide range of formats to facilitate responses. The consultation was independently evaluated by the Consultation Institute and was described as 'excellent'.

Packaging

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of packaging being used for commercial products in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: It is the responsibility of the commercial sector to reduce the amount of packaging being used for commercial products in Northern Ireland, and government regulates businesses through legislation to ensure that companies take their producer responsibility obligations seriously.
	Government also support companies to reduce their packaging through sponsorship of programmes and initiatives which enhance awareness, encourage good practice and design innovation.
	The Courtauld Commitment", an initiative developed by Waste and Resources Action Programme, which aims to design out packaging waste growth by 2008 and deliver absolute reductions in packaging wasteby 2010, enjoys the support of major retailers represented in Northern Ireland.

Planning Appeal Commission

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Planning Appeal Commission hearings took place in Northern Ireland during 2005; and how many involved a commissioner from outside Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Planning Appeals Commission is a tribunal non-departmental public body, and the Chief Commissioner has written to the hon. Gentleman in the following terms:
	During the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005 the Commission held 315 appeal hearings. This figure comprised 54 Formal Hearings and 261 Informal Hearings. A total of 19 of these hearings were presided over by Commissioners who reside outside of Northern Ireland."

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further steps he is taking to increase the number of Catholics in the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: In 1998 when the Patten Commission was conducting its investigation, only 8.3 per cent. of regular officers were from the Roman Catholic community. In less than five years under the temporary 50:50 provisions Catholic composition among regular officers has risen to 19.45 per cent. with 2,172 recruits having been selected for appointment on a 50:50 basis. In the same time female composition has also risen from 13 per cent. to 20.21 per cent. Our goal is to increase Catholic representation to 30 per cent. by 2010–11; the date envisaged by Patten to achieve this aim. I am pleased to say that we are very much on target to reach this goal with a further interim target of 23.5 per cent. set for March 2008.
	In terms of the steps taken to recruit police officers, the Oversight Commissioner has commented that the advertising programme has been both imaginative and assiduous. It has varied between competitions, but has included press, television, billboard, cinema and online advertising, all designed to reach groups currently under-represented in the police service. The responses from all communities have been extremely positive and the results have exceeded expectations. In an effort to adapt the volume of applicants to the number of recruits that can actually be appointed to training, television advertising has now been eliminated, and the number of press insertions reduced.
	The Oversight Commissioner found that in addition to a large number of Northern Ireland applicants, applications have been received from Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, as well as from a number of other countries. Nearly 25 per cent. of all applicants entering training are graduates.
	The Government recognises that 50:50 recruitment is an exceptional means of addressing an exceptional problem and we firmly believe that these temporary provisions are justified to rectify an acute historical imbalance in the composition of the police service. These exceptional measures are reviewed triennially and will expire unless specifically renewed by an order made by the Secretary of State. Section 47 of the 2000 Act was last renewed by the Police (NI) Act 2000 (Renewal of Temporary Provisions) Order 2004 allowing for their continuation until 28 March 2007.

Population Statistics (Lagan Valley)

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the numerical and percentage increase in the total population in Lagan Valley constituency has been in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: The table below gives the official estimate of the resident population in Lagan Valley Parliamentary Constituency from mid-year 2001 to mid-year 2004. Also included are the numerical and percentage increases for each one-year period.
	
		
			  Population estimate at 30 June Annual increase from previous year(9) Annual percentage increase from previous year 
		
		
			 2001 102,000 — — 
			 2002 102,900 800 0.8 
			 2003 103,500 600 0.6 
			 2004 104,600 1,100 1.1 
		
	
	(9)Data may not add due to rounding.

School Meals

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pupils in post-primary level schools in each of the education and library board areas in Northern Ireland received free school meals in 2005.

Angela Smith: The requested information is as follows:
	
		Post-primary pupils receiving free school meals in 2005
		
			 Education and library board Average percentage 
		
		
			 Belfast 17.2 
			 Western 20.8 
			 North-Eastern 10.4 
			 South-Eastern 10.2 
			 Southern 16.2 
			 Northern Ireland 14.9

Schools (Extended Hours)

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many schools in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency offer extended hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Angela Smith: My Department does not currently hold the information requested and it could only be obtained within the timescale for reply at disproportionate cost. However, an important aspect of the 'Extended Schools' element of the Children and Young People Funding Package will be a baseline survey in order to identify exactly how many schools in Northern Ireland currently offer an extended school service.

Serious Organised Crime

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the involvement of paramilitary groups in serious organised crime.

Shaun Woodward: The eighth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, published on 1 February 2006, provided a clear assessment of the activities of all paramilitary groups up to the end of November. The latest report, published on 8 March, stated that PIRA no longer pose a paramilitary threat.

Speeding Fines

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much revenue was generated by speeding fines in Northern Ireland for the 12-month period ended 31 December (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

Shaun Woodward: The revenue generated by speeding fines in the years requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Fixed penalty notices (Number) Fine levied per FPN (£) Revenue generated (£) 
		
		
			 2004 12,016 60 720,960 
			 2005 11,515 60 690,900

Statistics and Research Agency

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether students working in the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency are paid for bank holidays.

David Hanson: I can confirm that full-time one year placement students employed by the Department of Finance and Personnel are paid for bank holidays.

Statistics and Research Agency

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 990W, on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, for what reasons the interviewers are employed under terms and conditions different from those of other part-time staff of the agency.

David Hanson: Survey interviewers are fee-paid staff employed under a non-guaranteed hours contract. Their terms and conditions reflect the nature of the work they undertake.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol-related Offences

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued for (a) consumption of alcohol by and (b) selling alcohol to under age people in (i) Sunderland city council area and (ii) Houghton and Washington, East constituency in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: It is not possible to identify the number of penalty notices for disorder issued in the Sunderland city council area and Houghton and Washington, East constituency area because centrally available data are for police force areas and are not broken down to that level of detail.

Alcohol-related Offences

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in Swindon for alcohol-related offences between 12 November and 24 December (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

Paul Goggins: It is not possible to identify the number of penalty notices for disorder issued in Swindon because centrally available data are for police force areas as a whole and are not broken down to that level of detail.

Animals in Research

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual animals were used in regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in 2004–05.

Andy Burnham: The latest statistical information for England, Scotland and Wales is available in the 'Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain2004 (Cm 6713)'. Information relating to the number of animals used for scientific procedures can be found in Table 1a. As the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is administered by the Home Office for England, Wales and Scotland the data in the 'Great Britain' report is not broken down into the constituent geographical areas. Provision of the separate data for England, Scotland and Wales has, therefore, required a special exercise. The figures provided in the table are our best estimate of the number of animals used in each area and may be subject to a margin of error because our systems are not set up to provide a breakdown of data along the lines requested. The figures are as follows:
	
		
			 Country Number of animals 
		
		
			 England 2,378,920 
			 Scotland 391,034 
			 Wales 8,738 
			 Total 2,778,692 
		
	
	Statistical information for Northern Ireland is published separately in the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Northern Ireland. The 2004 statistics for Northern Ireland will be published shortly.

Asylum Seekers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers had been receiving National Asylum Support Service support on 31 December 2005 for more than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) one year and (d) two years.

Tony McNulty: Information on the period of time an asylum seeker or unsuccessful asylum seeker is supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) is not centrally collected.
	The numbers of asylum seekers supported by NASS are published on a quarterly and annual basis and show the numbers supported on that day only.
	Asylum seekers may receive support while their initial claim is being decided. Once a decision is made on a claim, support for single applicants and childless couples is terminated.
	Families with children under the age of 18 continue to receive support even if their claim is determined as unsuccessful. The most recent publication covering the fourth quarter of 2005 and further historical publications are available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Bashkim Bushati

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Bashkim Bushati, reference B1022306, in HMP Bellingdon will be deported from the United Kingdom.

Tony McNulty: Mr. Bushati was deported from the United Kingdom on 8 March.

Cell Sharing

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been doubled-up in cells meant for one inmate at each prison for each of the last 36 months; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The tables which highlight the information that is available for the last 36 months on the number of prisoners held doubled" in accommodation designed for one prisoner will be placed in the Library.

Drug Treatment Programmes

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the outcomes of drug treatment programmes in prisonsin England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Research evidence shows that drug treatment can lead to a significant reduction in drug taking and associated offending.
	In prisons, research into the effectiveness of drug interventions shows that completion of an intensive treatment programme can lead to significantly lower rates of reconviction (up to 10 per cent.) after two years, provided treatment was continued on release.

Electronic Tagging

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which private companies are contracted by the Home Office to provide electronic monitoring of offenders; and what the value of the contracts with each company is for 2005–06.

Fiona Mactaggart: Group four Securicor and Serco Ltd currently provide electronic monitoring services under contract to the Home Office.
	The value of the contracts will depend on the number of persons monitored each year. The latest available information suggests that in the financial year 2005–06 the value of the contracts awarded to each supplier, broken down by contract area, is expected to be as in the following table:
	
		
			  Contract area  Contractor Value (£ million) 
		
		
			 North East & North West Group four Securicor 14.7 
			 East Midlands, Yorkshire &  Humberside Group four Securicor 11.3 
			 South East & South West Group four Securicor 10.0 
			 London & Eastern Serco Ltd 12.6 
			 West Midlands & Wales Serco Ltd 8.7

Electronic Tagging

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department how many times each of the companies contracted to provide electronic monitoring of offenders has failed to meet the criteria specified by his Department.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office audits the performance of the electronic monitoring contractors against 19 service levels each month. The table shows the number of service levels that each contractor has failed to meet since April 2005.
	
		
			  Group four Securicor Serco Ltd 
		
		
			 April 2005 3 2 
			 May 2005 4 2 
			 June 2005 3 1 
			 July 2005 1 3 
			 August 2005 1 2 
			 September 2005 2 2 
			 October 2005 2 1 
			 November 2005 1 3 
			 December 2005 1 3 
			 January 2006 1 2

Home Detention Curfews

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the consistency of initial assessments by prison governors for home detention curfew arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Where a prisoner is eligible to be considered for release on HDC the Governor will consider suitability based on the merits of each individual case. Where the Governor considers there is a significant risk to the public or risk of reoffending on HDC or that the prisoner is likely to breach the curfew conditions, then release will not be granted. In order to assist Governors inform their future decisions, when offenders are recalled from HDC the releasing prison is now provided with copies of the revocation order and a police information sheet which provides details of the reasons for recall.

Immigration Detention Centres

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those held in immigration detention centres on 31 January were held under the Fastrack scheme.

Tony McNulty: Internal Management information shows that on 31 January 2006, 18 per cent. of those held in immigration detention centres were held under the Fast Track process.
	This figure does not constitute part of the National Statistics.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Immigration Detention Centres

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) suicide, (b) attempted suicide and (c) self-harm there have been in immigration detention centres for each of the last three years; and how many detainees are on suicide watch.

Tony McNulty: There has been one death in the detention estate in the last three years where the coroner has recorded a verdict of suicide. We await the coroner's verdict in a further five cases of apparently self-inflicted death.
	We do not keep records of attempted suicides rather self-harm attempts. No figures are available for 2003–04. Figures for 2004–05 and 2005–06 to 31 January 2006 are reproduced as follows.
	At 18:00 on 12 March, there were 35 detainees on self-harm watch in the detention estate.
	
		
			  1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 1 April 2005 to 31 January 2006 
			 Immigration Removal Centre Number of individuals on formal self-harm at risk Number of incidents of self-harm requiring medical treatment Number of individuals on formal self-harm at risk Number of incidents of self-harm requiring medical treatment 
		
		
			 Campsfield House 33 19 33 12 
			 Colnbrook(10) 95 34 584 74 
			 Dover 72 28 74 22 
			 Dungavel 127 1 93 0 
			 Harmondsworth 192 39 376 38 
			 Haslar 44 8 29 1 
			 Lindholme 24 2 10 4 
			 Oakington 57 15 58 16 
			 Tinsley House 91 8 40 3 
			 Yarl's Wood 123 7 170 15 
		
	
	(10)Opened August 2004.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were granted indefinite leave to remain under family applications in 2005.

Tony McNulty: During 2005, 11,280 principal applicants and a further 23,000 dependants were granted indefinite leave to remain under the Family ILR Exercise. This information is based on internal management information.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many holders of student visas applied (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully for the right to remain in the UK in a different category in 2005.

Tony McNulty: Provisional management information suggests that of those foreign nationals who were holders of student visas in the UK in 2005 and applied to remain here under a different category other than asylum, (a) about 7,740 of them were successful and (b) about 1,090 were unsuccessful.

National Asylum Support Services

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were covered by family applications for National Asylum Support Services support in 2005.

Tony McNulty: In 2005, NASS received 27,155 applications for support, of these 4,830 were from family groups. The number of individuals that were covered by the family applications was 14,240.
	The numbers of asylum seekers supported by NASS are published on a quarterly and annual basis. The most recent publication covering the fourth quarter of 2005, and further historical publications are available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Prison Suicide

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of the Ministerial Round Table discussions on suicides in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: I will write to the hon. Member with the agenda and outcomes of the most recent Ministerial Roundtable on suicide in prisons. There are no current plans for these to be published in full as the group shares issues frankly and in confidence. If the minutes were to be published it could affect the nature of the group. My Ministerial Colleague, Baroness Scotland, who is the Chair of the Roundtable, will however ask that the group discusses its position on this issue at the next meeting.
	The Roundtable last met on eight March 2006 at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. The key focus of the agenda was 'Reducing Violence and Fear of Violence in Prisons.' There were also the regular reports from Roundtable members and from officials. Previous discussions have focused on 'Care and Health Interventions,' 'Suicide Prevention Strategy Development,' 'Families, Deaths in Custody and their Prevention' and 'Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Management among Women Prisoners.'

Prison Visits (Children)

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds were provided by the prison service for facilities for children visiting prisons in the last year for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: There are no centrally collated figures on the money spent across the prison estate to provide facilities for children visiting prison.
	The responsibility for funding decisions rests with individual Prison Governors, as they are best placed to assess local needs.

Prisoner Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of relative pay rates for inmates on participation in education provision within the prison estate; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: No data is collected centrally that allows an assessment of the impact of relative pay rates for inmates on participation in education within the prison estate. The Green Paper 'Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment' (December 2005) makes clear that prison pay regimes should ensure that there are no barriers to involvement in learning and skills activity.

Prisoners

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of (a) suicide, (b) murder, (c) violent attack and (d) self harm were recorded in (i) men's prisons, (ii) women's prisons and (iii) young offender institutions in (A) England, (B) the North East and (C) the Tees Valley in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested with respect to deaths is provided in table A.
	The information requested with respect to serious assaults is provided in table B.
	An assault is classified as 'serious' if it:
	is a sexual assault, or—results in detention in outside hospital as an in-patient, or
	requires medical treatment for concussion or internal injuries, or—is a fracture, scald or burn, stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts requiring suturing, bites, temporary or permanent blindness.
	For the information requested with respect to self-harm, please see 16 March 2006, Official Report, column 2117.
	
		Table A
		
			 Prison type Type of death 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 England   
			 Female Self-inflicted 3 3 4 8 5 9 14 13 4 
			 Male Self-inflicted 51 69 69 62 54 76 74 78 65 
			 YOI Self-inflicted 9 4 11 10 7 7 4 3 7 
			 Male Homicide 2 2  1   1 2 3 
			 YOI Homicide  1  1  
			
			 North East   
			 Female Self-inflicted 1   1  
			 Male Self-inflicted 2 1 3 1  5 1 3 2 
			 YOI Self-inflicted   1 1  1 1   
			
			 Tees Valley   
			 Holme House (male) Self-inflicted 2 0 3 1 0 5 0 1 2 
		
	
	
		Table B
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 England  
			 Women's prisons 44 57 38 47 39 36 59 69 44 
			 Men's prisons 442 445 501 477 505 650 737 694 715 
			 YOI 134 197 224 226 218 223 259 273 328 
			   
			 North East  
			 Women's prisons 10 19 3 11 11 8 12 15 6 
			 Men's prisons 23 13 19 13 10 14 17 12 9 
			 YOI 9 16 17 13 10 9 14 25 17 
			   
			 Tees Valley  
			 Holme House 8 4 2 6 2 5 8 6 6 
			 Kirklevington  
			 Deerbolt 6 7 7 1 3 5 9 15 9

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department if he will make a statement on changes in prison management systems over the last 10 years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Since 1997, the Government have placed an increasing emphasis on addressing the causesand effects of offending behaviour. The 1998 comprehensive spending review (CSR) provided the first large scale, discrete investment in prison regimes, to allow prisoners to address offending behaviour and helpwith rehabilitation. This has been reinforced in subsequent spending reviews. Since 2002, partnerships with the Departments of Health and Education and Skills, which have transferred the budgets and policy responsibility from the Prison Service, have put provision of prisoners' health care and education on a par with that of the rest of society, to ensure equality and continuity of care and opportunity inside and outside of prison.
	The Youth Justice Board (also established as one of the outcomes of the 1998 CSR) has concentrated resources and efforts across the criminal justice system to help address the specific issues and problems associated with juveniles in a positive and constructive way. The new commissioning arrangements currently being designed and implemented in the new National Offender Management System, will allow regional offenders managers to similarly positively address the issues of adult offenders, both in custody and when held under community sentences.

Race Relations (Amendment) Act

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of compliance by Government Departments with their duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The Government are wholly committed to reducing inequalities experienced by people because of their race. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act requires all Government Departments to publish Race Equality Schemes which lay out how they will incorporate measures to tackle inequalities as part of their policy development and service delivery. Individual departments, with whom responsibility for complying with the duties lies, are currently carrying out a detailed assessment of their own compliance.
	The Home Office has been working with Government Departments to improve their compliance with the Race Equality Duty and will continue to do so.

Safer Cells Programme

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the safer cells programme.

Fiona Mactaggart: The continued introduction of safer cells across the prisons estate is based on a policy set out in December 2003 by the Prison Service Investment Board (PSIB). This states that for new accommodation in existing public prison establishments, all Category A, Category B and local prisons would be fitted 100 per cent. with full specification safer cells; Category C prison establishments would be fitted 25 per cent. with full specification safer cells; while RTUs ('ready to use') and MTUs (modular temporary units) would not generally be fitted with full specification safer cells and risks would be managed operationally. The PSIB further agreed that, for refurbished accommodation in local prison establishments, consideration should always be given to include safer cell provision in all business cases commissioned by the Estates Planning Committee.
	Some issues around ventilation in safer cells were raised during the independent evaluation of safer cells, carried out by the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science in 2003, as a result of which the Prison Service has developed an alternative safer ventilator design. The evaluation concluded that safer cells have much to commend them. Three prisoners stated to evaluators that being in a safer cell had prevented them from killing themselves.

Security Industry

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications have been submitted for (a) those employed in Cash and Valuables in Transit, (b) door supervisors, (c) vehicle immobilisers, (d) close protection operatives, (e) CCTV operatives and (f) security personnel since the establishment of the Security Industry Authority; how many applications have been (i) granted and (ii) refused in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Details of licensing statistics are available via the Security Industry Authority website www.the-sia.org.uk. As at 8 March, the numbers, including applications are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Applications: 
			  Received Granted Refused Being processed 
		
		
			 Cash and valuables in  transit 7,391 5,927 37 1,427 
			 Door supervisors 51,301 40,417 2,593 8,291 
			 Vehicle immobilisers 1,710 1,270 83 357 
			 Close protection 274 36 0 238 
			 CCTV 683 60 1 622 
			 Security guards 57,303 31,310 456 25,537 
			 Awaiting processing 16,497 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Grand total 135,159 79,020 3,170 36,472

UK Airports

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines the Government have issued on the holding of newly arrived visitors to the UK at airports; if he will place a copy of the guidelines in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Guidance to immigration officers on making decisions on whether to hold newly arrived visitors to the UK at airports is contained in chapter 31 of the Immigration Directorate's Instructions (IDIs). This document is maintained and updated as electronic guidance and is available from the IND website.

Under-age Drinking

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of retail outlets in Coventry South have been successfully prosecuted for selling alcohol to minors in each year since 2004.

Paul Goggins: Data from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that in Coventry petty sessional area, 11 defendants were convicted for the sale of alcohol to minors in 2004, of which none were recorded as businesses. It is not possible to identify convictions in Coventry South as the data is not broken down to this level of detail.
	The offence of selling alcohol to persons aged under 18 years of age was introduced to the penalty notice for disorder scheme from 1 November 2004 aimed at staff working in licensed premises found to commit this offence. It is not possible to identify those prosecuted or issued with PNDs in the Coventry South constituency because centrally available data is not broken down to that level of detail.
	The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005. Data for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.

War Crimes

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assurances were given by (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni during her visit last week in relating to the issuing of arrest warrants against (i) Brigadier-General Aviv Kochavi and (ii) any Israeli citizen accused of war crimes.

Andy Burnham: None, no Ministers or officials from the Home Office met the Foreign Minister during her visit.

War Crimes

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the operation of the War Crimes Act 1991;
	(2)  how many (a) males and (b) females have been prosecuted under section 1 of the War Crimes Act 1991 in each year since the Act came into force.

Andy Burnham: The War Crimes Act 1991 was passed by Parliament to allow the prosecution of war crimes committed during the Second World War in Germany or German occupied territory by people who are now British citizens or resident in the UK.
	The Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit, which disbanded in 1999, conducted enquiries into a large number of cases arising from the 1989 Report of the War Crimes Inquiry and elsewhere. Most cases did not lead to criminal proceedings because either the suspect was no longer alive or there was insufficient evidence for prosecution. There has been one conviction under the Act. Anthony Sawoniuk was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999 and died in custody in 2005. In one other prosecution, against Syzmon Serafinowicz in 1997, the court found the defendant unfit to plead and the then Attorney General entered a Nolle Prosequi (permanent stay of prosecution).
	The Metropolitan Police continues to have lead responsibility for the investigation of allegations of war crimes under the Act. defendant unfit to plead and the then Attorney General entered a Nolle Prosequi (permanent stay of prosecution). The Metropolitan Police continues to have lead responsibility for the investigation of allegations of war crimes under the Act.

Witness Protection

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State, in what circumstances public access to criminal courts may be restricted to protect witnesses; and if she will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Openness of judicial proceedings is a fundamental principle of the criminal justice system. However, courts have common law powers to restrict public access to proceedings where it is deemed necessary for the administration of justice and to ensure that justice is done, such as for witness protection.
	Section 25 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 enables the court to exclude the public (apart form one press representative) in a case involving a vulnerable or intimidated witness, where the case involves a sexual offence or.intimidation.
	There are also provisions in the Official Secrets Acts 1920 and 1989 which empower the court to exclude the public on grounds of national safety in prosecutions under those Acts.

Young Offenders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people detained in young offenders institutions have received (a) rehabilitative treatment and (b) educational training on leaving that institution in each of the last eight years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not collected centrally.